SecondBorn
by Right-2-Left
Summary: When your own flames burn you, but you're too stubborn to fall, your only option is to walk through the flames. Or, in which Azula wins a few battles, has a nervous breakdown, and meets another second-born.
1. Preamble

**Rating: M**

_Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Avengers do not belong to me. I am merely mixing together the sandboxes._

**Warnings: violence, murder, mentions of domestic abuse, child abuse and self-mutilation, violent nervous breakdown, minor coarse language**

**Synopsis: When your own flames burn you but you're too stubborn to fall, your only option is to walk through the flames. Or, in which Azula wins a few battles, has a nervous breakdown, and meets another second-born. Azula-centric.**

**Edits: Fixed a teensy-tiny typo that made a big difference. And another typo. I must've wrote this quickly.**

* * *

**Second-Born**

_"A dog in desperation will leap over a wall."_

Chinese Proverb

* * *

**Coronation Plaza, Royal Caldera City, Fire Nation, Mahābhūta**

**Yajnashan 22, 100 ASC – 23:46 CPT**

Soot falling from the sky stains the cobbled roads of the industrial nation. It isn't common.

In their homes, well aware of the rash, desperate and likely insane decisions made by the Princess Regent, the civilians of the nation hide. No fewer than 116 palace workers have been banished in the past week since Fire Lord Ozai became Phoenix King Ozai and decided to give his newly 14-year-old daughter the pressure of leading the entire Fire Nation. She was to be crowned today. The third child of Azul to become Fire Lord.

Rumors from the palace speak of the Princess Regent's refusal to sleep and refusal to eat anything not tested by at least four people. She's refused to bathe for the past three days and has banished every single one of her maidservants. With families having served the Royal Family of the Fire Nation for generations the rumors quickly spiral into acceptance as fact. The realization that their Princess Regent has done it all out of desperation, has done it all out of complete terror, quickly becomes a common held belief. The women who served the princess when she was a child remember the bruises inflicted upon her and the blood spilled across her flesh thanks to her father's harsh training only too well. They remember her refusal to be served by any of them in the hours following her older brother's Agni Kai against her father, which ended in Prince Zuko having his father's hand burned into the left side of his face. They remember when her father demanded she come to the Throne Room, seven hours after the Agni Kai, and the declaration that Prince Zuko was to hunt down the Avatar – everyone knew it was a fool's errand, equivalent to banishment. They remember the flash of terror across her eyes – she was only 10-years-old, a child – and then the quick schooling of her features into an expression of utmost calm and confidence.

"_A fitting punishment, Father."_

They remember those days.

The only love in that household was spread from mother to son and uncle to nephew. Princess Ursa to Prince Zuko and Prince Iroh to Prince Zuko. Azula was picked up by her father too soon. Told too often of her status as being 'born lucky'. Witnessed the abuse inflicted upon her older brother by her father too many times. Heard her mother's opinion of her – _monster_– once too much. Azula knows, she knows as well as her brother what their father is capable of. It's all she knows.

"_You're all banished!"_

The 'because you'll try and kill me, because that's what people do' remained unspoken. But those who served Azula her entire life recognized the unspoken words and silently went along with her demands.

She is the Thirteenth Child of Azul. Every single child of Azul, every single wielder of the blue, azul, flame, has been the greatest firebender of their lifetime and has accomplished things thought to be impossible. Azul himself established the Fire Nation as a viable power. He became Fire Lord when he was 16 and began bending blue fire – later named after him – when he was 18. Agni may have been named after the Sun – the original Agni – and may have first unified the Sun Warrior tribes in the beginning but it was Fire Lord Azul who turned the Sun Warriors into the Fire Nation, under one name, with one army, with multiple traditions and beliefs that he soon, with the help of the future Fire Sages, combined to create one unified set of traditions and beliefs. From then on every firebender able to bend blue fire was called a Son of Azul. They were philosophers, sages, war leaders, Fire Lords, warriors and farmers. Until Azula there had been no Daughter. She was the first, the youngest, and the only one – both of the Azul children and everyone else who had ever existed – to conquer the entire Earth Kingdom. With the accomplishments of her "brothers" and "father" behind her it is inevitable that she eventually becomes greater even than her father, Phoenix King Ozai the Supreme Ruler of the World.

She'll be able to think without the threat of her father's handprint being burned onto her face. She'll be able to be great on her own conditions. The women who served her knew that since she was 10.

The source of the soot falling from the sky brings on doubts, however.

Azula rolls back to her feet, her eyes darting from her brother to the waterbender he brought along named Katara. Azula recalls the intel on the teenage waterbender. Katara Qilaq. 14. Second-born of Chief Hakoda Qilaq of the Southern Water Tribe. Mother killed by Yon Rha, leader of the Southern Raiders at the time. He had been following intelligence that revealed there was one last waterbender in the Southern Water Tribe. The woman, Kya Qilaq, said it was her. She lied. Played the part of a mother platypus-bear protecting her cub.

Once Azula gets her crown and takes down the Avatar – her father will kill her if she doesn't take down the Avatar after beating her brother and Katara, she's certain, he hates her, he hates her, _he_ _hates her_ – she is going to have Yon Rha killed. If it wasn't for his ineptitude she wouldn't be in this predicament. She'll have the man killed for his idiocy.

_No._

Yon Rha: 66. Last living son of Bolorm. 85. Heavily dislikes his aged mother. Would welcome death if presented to him. New plan: Get Bolorm to kill Yon Rha. Poison in drink. Knife to the throat. Make sure Yon Rha knows who his killer is. Make sure he sees her eyes.

Azula pants – which is ridiculous because she's always had better stamina, better endurance, than Zuko and he _isn't_ panting. In the back of her mind she knows that her exhaustion is because of lack of sleep and nourishment. She needs to eat and she needs to sleep. _Soon._ Right now though, she needs to get her ungrateful older brother – _Zuzu, please – _and that damn waterbending peasant out of the way.

Zuko Tonatiuh. 16 – no, birthday's in winter – 17. Firstborn of Fire – no – Phoenix King Ozai of the Fire Nat – no – World. Elder brother of Princess Regent and Soon-to-Be Fire Lord Azula. (14.) Bad relationship with father. Father has tried to kill him numerous times. Inept at noticing assassination attempts. Had to have younger sister thwart attempts behind his back. Became firebender at age 6, two years later than normal. Lagged behind ever since. Except now. Something's different. He's using a different form, one she doesn't recognize –_unacceptable._ Weaknesses: Shows emotions. Untrained to be Fire Lord. Inferior strategist, tactician and leader. Prone to bouts of rage. No or few skills in archery, knives, daggers, shuriken, kyusho-jitsu, acrobatics, and poison. No Azul. Strengths: Allied with powerful individuals, most notably, the Avatar. Has blackmail material on opponent – note: will likely not use said material. Can redirect lightning. Well-rested. Fed. Is an individual the opponent does not wish to kill.

Azula blinks, her famished mind searching instinctively for a quick way to end the fight. She wants her title and she wants to eat and she wants to sleep and she wants her people back because _she's their princess and she's supposed to protect them because that's what princesses do and that damn Water Tribe princess knew that so why doesn't anyone else understand that _and her brother and that peasant are standing in her way.

Option I: Kill waterbender. Wound Zuko.

Result I: Forfeit Agni Kai.

Outcome I: Forfeit rendered null-and-void with opponent too wounded to continue. Acceptable.

"No lightning today?" shouts Zuko, opening himself up for a free shot as Azula works on catching her breath without vomiting – she's beginning to see spots and she knows that isn't good. "What's the matter? Afraid I'll redirect it?"

Oh. Right. _Lightning_.

Irritated by the constant threat of vomiting – what could she possibly vomit? She hasn't eaten in at least two days! – Azula shouts, "Oh…I'll show you lightning!"

Her arms and hands twist, the power of Sozin's Comet surging through her breath and veins as, reflexively, instinctively, she clears her mind of everything except her singular goal of ending the duel. Lightning surges up from her belly and sparks up her shoulders, down her arms to hit her wrists. Her eyes flick to the waterbending peasant and her right hand shoots forward, lightning snapping from it with a harsh _crack!_

It's her fault. It's all her fault. Her mother's fault. Her fault. _Filthy peasant._

Zuko's mouth opens and he darts right in the path of the lightning bolt. And all Azula can hear are his screams.

"_AAAAHHHH!"_

_The scent of burnt flesh wafts through the room from the epicenter of Fire Lord Ozai's flaming hand against his eldest child's unguarded face. It takes his youngest child a split-second to figure out how not to have half her face burned off; she smirks as her brother screams._

_When Azula sleeps she doesn't stop hearing the screams of her big brother for a month._

When she blinks again he's on the ground, twitching and clutching his chest where a mangled piece of flesh is resting as sparks of lightning snap out from his body, the product of botched lightning redirection. Azula can smell the burnt flesh again and hear him screaming and it deafens her, it deafens her, and she gags in the second between Zuko hitting the ground and Katara snapping to her senses and darting towards him.

No one notices.

It takes a split-second for Azula's desperate, hungry, terrified, and brilliant mind to remember that if it wasn't for Yon Rha's failure, if it wasn't for Katara's presence, this never would have happened. Her brother wouldn't be dead.

Conclusion: Katara's presence caused Zuko's fatal wound.

Solution: Kill Katara. Later, kill Yon Rha. Never mind his mother. Azula will kill the man herself. She'll make him wet himself in fear. Then, she'll fix Zuko, fix him fix him fix him, she's a prodigy she should be able to fix him.

Fury snaps from Azula, sending a cobalt fireball as large as a truck in Katara's path to Zuko. The pathetic, murdering peasant doesn't get to touch her brother. Not when she's done what she's done.

Years of military strategy drilled into her mind and instincts prompts her to get to the top of one of the buildings. She gets to the roof effortlessly and shoots lightning at the waterbending peasant, barely holding back laughter as she leaps.

"I'd really rather our family physician look after little Zuzu if you _don't mind_," Azula declares, bending more lightning because it needs. to. end. Because she's tired. She's so, so _tired _and that girl is a murderer. _MURDERER!_

Azula hates sewers the instant Katara bends the water in them up from the ground and into the air, blocking the next hit and then turning and freezing it to skate and dodge Azula's furious strikes. The peasant will die.

Azula laughs at the terror present in the peasant's blue eyes. Eyes that are no longer the color of the sky. The sky is covered in ash and fire, black and red and orange and yellow. No blue. The Princess Regent laughs because the alternative is to cry and vomit and both are weaknesses that will result in a hand to the face at the very least. Flames optional.

She laughs, desperate and starving, and somehow finds the imminent death of the waterbender hilarious. She hasn't slept in at least three days. Probably more. _They all want to kill you, Azula. They're all threatened by your power. Father's going to kill you, he knows you lied. He knows. He knows that Zuzu didn't kill the Avatar. He knows it was you, but you failed. Failedfailedfailedfailed. Diediediediedie. DIE._

Everything is hilarious now.

Even Zuko. Lying there. Twitching. Getting closer and closer to being fetched by Svahango. Closer and closer to death.

Hilarious.

But not.

She refuses to vomit and cry. She doesn't want to smell her own burned flesh. She doesn't want to die. She just wants her _home_ back. She just wants her _people_, her _country_, her_friends,_ her _family _and her _life_ back. _Did she ever have them? _She just wants to go _home_, go _home_ and sleep and eat and stop fearing that every person she speaks to wants to kill her, just like Dad and Mom, just like Grandfather and Uncle, just like…just like Zuko. _But Zuzu…_

She laughs as the Coronation Plaza burns.

She sprints beneath the pillars upholding a shelter from the vicious sun. Azula barely catches a glimpse of the chains in the waterbender's hands before her hands snap out, sending a fireball the size of a standard front door at the blue-eyed Chief's daughter. Water springs from the sewer beneath the shelter, a hasty block, one that dies almost immediately.

The waterbender turns, her arms slowly rising as she darts over the grate above water.

Azula, limp, her hair whipping around her head from a combination of the wind and the lightning spawning on her fingers, laughs and darts towards the waterbender.

Water explodes from the grate. The lightning dies halfway to Katara's chest and flames erupt from Azula's feet on reflex. Steam envelops the teenage girls and Azula moves forward, ruled by her instincts. She grabs the wrist of the waterbender, wrenches it behind her back to the tune of breaking bones and gasping screams and slams Katara against the grate face-first. Azula wrenches her opposite arm back, dislocating her shoulder, burning her handprint into her arm, and lashes the chains around the waterbender's arms and waist. Katara shrieks, the scent of burnt flesh rising across her left arm as her forearm morphs into a piece of roasted meat. She struggles until Azula jabs her in the side, making her legs limp swiftly before knocking her unconscious. _Ty Lee, you traitor, you ungrateful little – come back. COME BACK! PLEASE!_

She's too weak to kill her brother's friend. Somehow, in the depths of her famished mind she knows that if she kills his friend he'll never forgive her…he'll never…she'll never get back her home, her people, her country, her friends, her family…her life. She'll get nothing back. She won't. She'll make enemies of enemies of enemies if she kills the infernal waterbender.

_Strategy. Remember to think, Azula. Be strategic._

It doesn't even take a second for the 14-year-old Princess Regent to begin to shake. She turns sharply and then hits the ground, her knees cracking against the hard, hot ground. Her mouth opens as a guttural sound erupts from her throat and a combination of stomach acid and saliva spills from between her lips. Shaking, Azula blinks in an attempt to clear the spots rapidly growing, expanding from the edges of her vision to the centre, her hunger gnawing at her belly and her exhaustion destroying her ability to keep anything down. She shuts her eyes so tightly her head begins to ache. Blood drips from crescent cuts in the palms of her hands and with distinct effort she uncurls her fists and climbs to her feet.

Zuko's still twitching.

Azula swallows the bile that lurches up her throat.

She staggers toward him, her vision blurring, leaving behind the motionless waterbender on the grate. Zuko is twitching and trying to turn to face her even with the lightning still sparking off his body. He's staring, wide-eyed – she didn't know his eyes could get so wide – at Katara, lying motionless on the grate, smoke slowly whispering up into the air from her arm. It looks as though he's trying to scream.

Azula has to stop two feet away from him and buckle over, vomiting stomach acid and saliva. Again.

She isn't aware that she's crying.

Zuko can't stop twitching. He's clutching his chest where the lightning made its mark – it was supposed to hit Katara, not him, not him, _idiot_ – and he's staring up at his baby sister, tears running down her cheeks, her lipstick smudged across her face, her body carrying a heavy odour of sweat and smoke, her hair haphazardly chopped and hanging in mangled strands across her face, her eyes wide and bloodshot and rimmed in dark circles and heavy bags.

She's going to kill him.

His little sister is going to kill him.

He jumps, not because of the lightning but because of her knees cracking against the ground next to him. She's shaking; he notices that even as he finds himself wondering where he'll go when he dies, if he'll be treated like a bad guy or a good guy in the Spirit World. She's shaking uncontrollably and, no, she's not crying anymore, she's sobbing. Azula is sobbing.

"You _dum-dum_."

The hiss slams into his ears harder than her palm on his chest, against the scar still pulsing with electricity. Suddenly, she isn't shaking anymore. She's completely silent and he can feel the lightning leaving his body, he can feel his control over his muscles returning but he still can't move. He still can't move.

The lightning is pulsing up her palm, across her left hand and up her arm. She raises her right arm to the sky, her perfectly manicured fingernails pointing to the stained sky.

Blue lightning shoots perfectly from her fingertips and for a split-second the sky is ablaze with blue and white.

Azula stares at her older brother. Shallow breathing. He's in pain, in shock, so he can't move. His eyes are wide. He's staring up at her but her brain is unable to connect that to the concept that he can now _see her crying _when he shouldn't, he can't, because then Father will know and then she'll die, just like Mother. _MONSTER! _She can sense Father's fire too though, across the planet. She can sense the Avatar's fire. The Avatar's is larger and Father's is waning.

She doesn't want him to die. He was willing to make her Fire Lord. That was her dream. He believed in her. Is it any wonder that she likes him better than Mother even though she doesn't particularly like either of them? At least he believed in her. At least…at least…

She's beaten the Avatar before.

Azula stands, swaying.

Zuko follows her swaying steps into the Coronation Temple where the Fire Sages took shelter. His brain is working furiously to try and figure out how he's still alive._ Why is he still alive?_

He doesn't turn his head to stare at Katara. He can't look. Not now. He can't. He can't. He can't. She can't be gone. She can't. Azula wouldn't…Katara is too…she…no. Just because she isn't moving doesn't mean…

The Fire Sages stare at the Princess Regent, wide-eyed. Azula doesn't bother with eloquence. Instinctively, intuitively, she knows what she needs to do and she needs it done _now._

_Be strategic._

"Do it. Now."

In seconds, she's kneeling at the foot of the Coronation Temple and the Fire Sages are behind her, the crown of the Fire Lord raised.

"By decree of Phoenix King Ozai I now declare you Fire Lord Azula!"

Azula exhales the Flames of Azul as the crown of the Fire Lord rests on her head. Unlike it, she has no time to rest. This needs to end. _Now._ Everything needs to end. _Now._ And since no one else seems to be competent, she'll have to be the one to end it. _Now._

"Get him to Kao," Azula orders, pointing to Zuko as she stands, referring to their family physician. "Then imprison him in the Prison Tower. Restrain the waterbender. Imprison her. No access to water. Don't get close enough to her to have another Hama incident. Do that, and I'll deal with you personally."

In the next instant she's gone, sprinting to the nearest communications room. There's no one in there. Azula nearly bursts into tears, realizing that having banished virtually everyone who remained in the palace she's now completely alone, burned by her own flame. so to speak. Nevertheless she sends out a broadcast, hoping that the communication systems still work in the extreme heat that has even her sweating.

There's no one left.

No one.

It was only thanks to threatening a retired pilot that she managed to get into the air and fly straight for the Earth Kingdom with the horrendously underused Yu Yan Strikeforce. Azula ignores them and focuses on saving her father because saving him will mean that she'll survive too. Saving him will mean that at least one person will at least bother to pretend to care and be with her. And maybe she'll have her life back. She's already gotten her people back, her country, now she needs everything else.

There's no one left. No one except him.

_Dad._

She sleeps for two hours and eats a handful of Fire Flakes – anything more and she vomits – before they hide in the cloud cover. She waits, watching the scene below, but doesn't act soon enough. For once in her life, she's late.

Blue and orange overtakes the skies. Her eyes burn. She attacks as the blue surrounds her father and covers the planet.

She'll save Dad. She'll rule the Fire Nation. He'll…he'll be Phoenix King and, hopefully, as long as she's there he won't do what he's always wanted to do and turn the entire planet into ashes. That's the only reason he agreed to her suggestion to incinerate the entire Earth Kingdom: their hope, their crops, their people, everything. Because he wants to watch the entire world burn. He should probably die because of that but Azula can't bring herself to do that. He pretended to care. Even if he didn't actually care, at least…at least he _pretended_. That was more than she could say for anyone else.

She spared Zuko's life. She spared that waterbender's life. She blames exhaustion for those questionable moments of judgment. She needs to come up with a reason as to _why_ she spared their lives that will satisfy her father. Or he'll kill her.

"_Be strategic, Azula, or they'll kill you."_

_The hand at the back of her head slams her beneath the water and her lungs burn. It's just a training session. Just a training session. She has to remember that._

"_They'll kill you."_

_Kill you. Kill you. Kill you._

The glowing blue Avatar returns to Aang. Merely Aang.

She's beaten him before. Locked the Avatar State.

He doesn't expect to be facing the Yu Yan – the only group on the planet, besides Azula and her Dai Li, to succeed in bringing down the Avatar – so soon after battling the Phoenix King.

The projectiles force him to dodge and Fire Lord Azula takes her chance, having landed silently on a hoodoo behind the one holding Aang and her now dazed, nearly unconscious, father. She exhales and lightning erupts from her hands in the same instant as a grenade collides with the hoodoos right next to Aang, distracting him, covering the sound of the lightning.

_CRACK! BOOM!_

Not a sound leaves the 12-year-old's mouth as the lightning collides with his back. He crashes forward. He careens across the hoodoos, lightning sparking across his body. The Fire Lord pursues. The Yu Yan guard. Ready.

A hand with professionally manicured nails hits his neck silently in a movement learned from a girl in pink, and he crumples, mercifully unconscious. Unaware of the lost control over everything below his neck thanks to one precise jab.

"Keep him alive," Fire Lord sneers, reverting to sneering to keep from crying – she won't, she won't, she won't. "But imprisoned." She fixates the leader of the Yu Yan with a glare that would make anyone not trained as he was soil themselves, "Better than before." She waits for him to nod. He does.

Thirty-eight summers led Ozai to the moment where, nearly unconscious, unable to support his body, he looks up into the burning, bloodshot amber eyes with dark bags underneath of his barely teenage daughter. The eyes of the only person in history who ever succeeded in conquering the entire Earth Kingdom. The eyes of the only person in history who ever succeeded in conquering Ba Sing Se. The eyes of the only person who shot the Avatar, twice, with lightning, even if she did fail at killing him the first time. The eyes of the first Daughter of Azul. The eyes of his daughter.

Azula twitches and nearly chokes from the effort of maintaining her composure. In an effort to cover up the twitch she grabs her father and pulls him up to his knees, concern creasing her face despite the fact that she shouldn't be worried because even though she's so much better than him, so much stronger and smarter, he isn't weak. The fact that he has managed to terrify her is proof enough of that.

He eyes her new crown and smirks, still supported by her.

"Your fleet is destroyed," Azula gestures behind him to the lone jet barely hovering in the air. "The Earth Kingdom will not be burned tonight. Besides, we have the Avatar, the waterbender, and Zuzu defeated. We won this battle."

She needs to keep him from burning the Earth Kingdom. She won't watch yet another piece of her world go up in flames. She won't watch yet another one of her victories be, ultimately, worth nothing.

"The Order is taking Ba Sing Se," Azula adds. "Your brother burned the Fire Nation's flags."

Ozai is wheezing. He lifts his hand and makes a movement so familiar to Azula it's instinct. But nothing happens. The movement is supposed to spawn a flame in the bender's palm. Nothing.

Azula stares at his hand as he tries again. Nothing.

"He took away your bending," she says. Her voice is deceptively calm. She can't understand why he still terrifies her. He isn't a threat anymore. He can't bend. He isn't a threat. Her body isn't listening to her mind though. Her father is still the only person she fears.

_They'll kill you. Kill you. Kill you._

Ozai's glare would decimate entire countries. Still wheezing, he orders, "Kill-" a breath, "the Avatar." Pure loathing drips from his eyes as his grip on Azula's shoulder digs past her armour, "He will pay."

The Avatar's existence ensures the planet's survival. Without the Avatar it is said that the planet will die.

Apocalypse.

Azula would prefer to rule when there are people to rule over.

General Iroh, Dragon of the West, becomes the Most Wanted Person in the Fire Nation. Within a matter of hours he becomes the Most Wanted Person in the World.

Fire Lord Azula doesn't sleep for another twenty-four hours.

Finally, she finds herself unable to physically support her own body. She collapses on the floor of her bedroom. Her servants slowly trickle back, reinstated and forbidden from ever informing anyone of their previous banishment. Azula refuses to be just like Zuko. She won't be foolish enough to earn a death sentence carried out by Dad.

She's not Zuko.

Not Zuko.

Not Zuko.

She will never be Zuko.

She wakes and rips the IV out of her arm.

The only people who know of the Phoenix King's loss of his bending are the Avatar, Ozai himself, Fire Lord Azula, the Royal Physician Kao, and the Fire Sages. They know they'll be turned over to Fire Lord Azula if they dare breathe a word of the Phoenix King's…condition. No one tests that promise. No one wants to face her.

Phoenix King stands in front of the world. The body of a tattooed boy on a spike is beside him. The boy burns orange and red and yellow and the declaration that the Avatar is dead envelops the streets. Fire Lord Azula has never seen so many people crying. So many people praying. So many people begging and rioting in the streets. The suicide rate plummets as the declaration explodes across the planet. Within a week, the planet is silent.

Fire Lord Azula watches from her palace. The same palace she saved at least 14 times in the past week from being attacked by enraged, terrified civilians.

Fire Lord Azula stands behind her father, Phoenix King Ozai, watching as he stops ruling the planet – pretending, in the process, that he ever did rule the planet – and buries himself in searching for a cure for his condition. Fire Lord Azula takes his responsibilities on her own shoulders, again, letting him continue his searching because he is in no state to rule. She keeps the title of Fire Lord and doesn't cry or pray or beg or riot.

She has more important things to do.

The word 'monster' carved into her flesh remains a reminder.

* * *

Years away, Loki, once Odinson, plummets into the abyss of space and time.

* * *

**The Palace of the Phoenix King "The Nest", Businiao City, Eastern Air Province, Mahābhūta**

**Jati 2, 103 ASC – 22:32 EST**

Fire Lord Azula Tonatiuh of the Fire Nation, Queen of the Earth Kingdom, the Prodigal Warrior, Lady of the Azul Flame, First Daughter and Thirteenth Child of Azul of the Dynasty of Sozin, Ri Wu Era, Daughter of Phoenix King Ozai, Commander-in-Chief of the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom Militaries, Head of the Rough Rhinos and Dai Li, Conqueror of the Earth Kingdom, Subjugator of the Hundred Years War, Duchess of the Isle of Ilah, Phoenix King of Mahābhūta in all but name, and unknown and unnamed "Keeper" of Avatar Aang, Katara the Mighty of the Southern Water Tribe and Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. Most recently, she is also Observer of and Consultant for dealing with the Extra-Terrestrial Intruder. She looks into the highly-secured medical room, pursing her lips.

Beside her, her father, Phoenix King Ozai Tonatiuh of Mahābhūta, etcetera, clasps his hands behind his back and observes his daughter observing their captive. His hands twitch, as they usually do when he's forced out of his study. His skin is ashen, his hair is limp and tangled, and his eyes are darkened by circles and bags. He remains fit and stands proudly but there is a distinct aura of despair and desperation around him.

The creature had fallen from the sky and plummeted into the waters around the Eastern Air Province. The creature had fallen unconscious sometime during its fall and had to be fished out of the waters by Phoenix King's soldiers. The creature had suffered a few wounds and all had been bandaged by the resident physicians before the creature was restrained to one of the healing beds in one of the most secluded parts of the Royal Medical Wing. There were two Dai Li agents posted outside the door with two firebending soldiers, one Dai Li agent was within the room itself along with a firebending soldier, and the creature's restraints were highly unlikely to break. They bandaged the creature up but until they knew who and what the creature was they were not about to take any chances. Hence, the Fire Lord's presence in Businiao City when she could have just as easily been back in the Fire Nation in Caldera City in her own palace.

But Father's ministers had called, so she came.

The creature looked like any male she would come across on Mahābhūta. Two arms, two legs, two eyes, two ears, a nose, a mouth, flesh. He – she presumed the creature was male – was tall, taller than her father by a few inches and taller than herself by a foot, had a lean body but beyond the injuries he sustained during his fall he appeared to be physically fit. He had skin as fair as her skin though with what seemed to be pink undertones rather than yellow, he had green eyes and black hair that fell to his shoulders. He had plummeted wearing a rather intricate outfit that seemed to be missing a couple parts. He had clearly been in a battle of some sort before winding up on Mahābhūta. His outfit boasted various shades of green, gold and black, with plenty of metal, leathery material and some body-armor that was impressively well-made. It was on the level of Earth Kingdom armor made by metalbenders and the high-tech armor the Fire Nation was beginning to produce. Certainly better than the armor the Water Tribes made, save for insulation, which the Fire Nation did admittedly lag in.

His forehead creases.

Father and daughter tense.

His green eyes open wide and in an instant he's aware of the restraints and he tugs on them, again on instinct, before a twitch rushes across his hands and the Fire Lord's instincts come forward full force. In the next instant she's in the room and using her diminutive size, lack of any major scarring, youth, and gender to her full advantage. It isn't wisdom that causes her larger, older, more threatening father to remain outside. He is merely too tired, too far gone to bother with moving quickly.

"I am so sorry about the restraints. I can't imagine who would bother with this. You were wounded, as if you would rise up and attack us," a chuckle escapes her lips as she easily slips into the role of a nonthreatening, definitely-not-the-unofficial-leader-of-the-entire-planet, teenage girl.

She grabs the restraint on his right ankle and moves quickly, unhooking it and ensuring that she draws the tips of her manicured fingers across his ankle to figure out if he possesses the same pressure points as everyone else on the planet. She hasn't been able to get Ty Lee in yet to use her aura sight on him.

It took years, but Azula finally accepted the fact that Ty Lee was intimately in tune with the energies of the universe and therefore could, in fact, see auras and used that ability to pinpoint the pressure points she used when fighting. Most of those pressure points were fairly standard across the board but Azula wasn't certain that that would apply to extra-terrestrials.

Probably not. Especially considering the fact that Ty Lee wasn't even able to, with her sight and her knowledge, figure out a way to give Ozai back his firebending. She figured out some things about the actual theft of his bending but had no idea how to return it. If it wasn't for Azula, Ozai would have killed Ty Lee then and there.

"I suppose," she adds as she catches sight of the creature's face and senses that he doesn't believe her, that he, somehow, _knows_ that she is lying, that he knows that she knows exactly why he was restrained, "that it was because of protocol. A strange person plummeting from the sky raises concerns, as I'm sure you can understand. Well, if you understand the language I am using."

His brow relaxes slightly, "I understand."

"Excellent. What may I call you?"

"Loki."

"A pleasure to meet you, Loki. I am Azula."

"Charmed."

He still has his powers so it's easy, despite the mental blocks she's managed to erect, to slip past her barriers and into her mind.

He is in a realm thought to be myth. That is his first realization. His second is that the girl has an affinity for lies and mischief that could challenge his. His third is that she is far more powerful than she wants him to think.

She is in charge of her realm in all but name. She is the second-born daughter of a second-born son in a dominantly patrilineal society who managed to not only beat her older brother but take authority over her father, who is, apparently, dangerously close to the edge of nothingness. She is the only person in history who managed to conquer the largest country on the planet, populated by mortals capable of controlling earth itself, and she did so with only two other powerless teenage girls assisting her in under a month. She is the only person in history who has managed to gain complete command of the entire planet and did so before she turned 15-years-old. She is the reason a war that had been going on for a full century ended, officially, 3 years ago. There are still minor battles and upsurges of dissent but the war itself was ended the instant she took command of every country on the planet.

She is 17 now.

Loki cannot claim such feats and he is both years older and infinitely more powerful than her.

Some mortals claim that influence is power. It is. But true power, _real power, _now that is something most mortals are afraid of. They are afraid of the responsibility that lies in dominating over a group of people. Afraid of the concept of true power. She does not fear true power. She believes, in her very soul, that she was born with the Divine Right to Rule. She is not afraid of ruling. She is not afraid of the responsibility inherent in domination. She is not afraid of mischief or lies or lightning or deceit or power or influence or chaos. She is only afraid of her Father. Loki cannot fathom why.

Lightning surges into his body and he suddenly finds himself ensnared in rock and metal with the girl standing in front of him in a defensive pose. If he was any lesser being he would have paled at the expression on her face.

"Enter my mind again, Loki, and I will rip your intestines out through your nose," she vows.

He caught a glimpse in her mind of her knowledge of her grandmother, Fire Lady Ilah, a woman who disemboweled her opponents, burned their entrails in front of them, and then dragged their bodies throughout their conquered territory. He knows lies. She is not lying.

He cocks an eyebrow, "Let's not be violent, Azula."

A flicker of indecipherable emotion rushes through her bizarre amber eyes. Her eyes narrow, "Who are you?"

"Loki Laufeyson."

"Where are you from?"

"Asgard and Jötunheimr, you know nothing of them," he answers truthfully, seeing no reason to lie to the girl. She knows some about realms beyond her own, but not enough for him to be concerned.

"You're royalty. A Prince, correct?" she questions, noting how he holds himself like royalty. She doesn't touch the 'you know nothing of them' bit.

"A King."

She scoffs, "You do not have the look of a King. You hold yourself like a child, like a prince, certainly not a king. You are not cut-out to be a king."

"I was a King!" Loki snaps. "All knelt before me!"

Azula cocks an eyebrow, "I suppose kings such as yourself throw temper tantrums as well?"

Loki glowers.

"Don't flatter yourself, Loki Laufeyson," Azula states, standing straight. "You are no closer to being a king than I am to being a peasant."

"It would be wise if you held your tongue when speaking to me you mewling-"

She cuts him off impassively, "I've faced worse than you."

He can free himself easily from the metal and rock, but her audacity, her refusal to treat him as the king he is, is intriguing. He watches as she leaves the room, not giving him anything to work with. She has immense power. He can sense the energy fighting to escape her at every moment, energy which she manages to control expertly. She is in control of everything, but, at the same time, does not mind causing a little bit of mischief and lying when it suits her.

She seems to always be the cause of the mischief though. It would be interesting to see what she did when confronted by mischief not of her making.

He also wonders what she would think of the Tesseract, considering her affinity for energy.

* * *

**A/N: **Loki knows of the Tesseract because I say so. He was travelling around the realms, I guess, going on a slightly less violent Zuko-esque "quest" to regain his...something equivalent to "HONOR" and there were rumors.

Some explanations…

ASC = After Sozin's Comet (I believe this is official for A:TLA, regardless, it's not mine.)

Yajnashan = August (Combination of the words "yajna" and "atroshan.")

Jati = September ("Birth", the 11th of the Twelve Nidanas in Buddhism, as far as I am aware. Decided to use it as an autumn month.)

Svahango = Lightning Goddess, believed to be the distributor of death, can bend blue flames, her partner is Agni the Sun God (Her name is inspired by Shango, a god of thunder, lightning and fire in the Yorùbá religon.)

Mahābhūta = means "great element" (Please correct me if I'm wrong about the meaning. I thought it was an appropriate name for their planet.)

CPT = Caldera Province Time

EST = Eastern Standard Time

Businiao = the name for the phoenix "immortal bird" in China (Again, correct me if I'm wrong.)

Tonatiuh = Aztec sun god

Qilaq = means "sky or heaven"


	2. Chapter 1

**Rating: M**

_Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Avengers do not belong to me. I am merely mixing together the sandboxes._

**Warnings: violence, mentions of domestic abuse, child abuse and self-mutilation**

**Synopsis: When your own flames burn you but you're too stubborn to fall, your only option is to walk through the flames. Or, in which Azula meets another second-born and throws her planet into the world of intergalactic war. Azula-centric. **

* * *

_**Chapter Warning(s): minor sexual content, mentions of domestic/child/psychological/emotional/mental abuse**_

* * *

**Second-Born**

_ "Though I sit down now, the time will come when you will hear me."_

Benjamin Disraeli

**Chapter 1**

* * *

**The Palace of the Phoenix King "The Nest", Businiao City, Eastern Air Province, Mah****ābhūta**

**Jati 30, 103 ASC – 06:12 EST**

Ty Lee knows exactly why she is here, at this moment, with this person. She isn't stupid. She's the world's foremost expert on pressure points, chi-blocking, and pinpointing the various chi-points on each and every person on the planet. Sure, her ability to see auras helps her gain that understanding but she was never able to rely solely on it. She knows far more about the physiologies of people, of different benders, than she ever particularly wanted to know. She knows what places to press to relieve tension just as she knows what places to press to paralyze someone just as she knows what places to press to kill someone.

Her old instructor always believed that the only way to truly understand an artform – she always referred to the knowledge of physiologies, pressure and chi-points as 'artforms' – was to understand every side of it. In her training, Ty Lee wound up knowing not only the purpose of every single pressure and chi-point on the body but also a great deal about physiologies medically. She knows how far a person at the peak of their strength, based on their height, their weight, their build, their gender, etcetera, can jump. She knows the exact amount of strength needed to throw an adult average-sized male across a twenty foot room, based on her usual method of throwing people.

She had been surprised when she entered the Royal Fire Academy for Girls and Princess Azula, _the Princess Azula_, wanted to be her friend. Then she figured out that Azula had no idea how to be a friend and Ty Lee figured she could try and teach the princess how to be a proper friend, one that gave hugs and was proud when her friends succeeded.

It took three years of "friendship" with Azula for Ty Lee to figure out that she was probably the only person who ever hugged Azula. Mai was never a hugger and Ty Lee was well aware of Ozai's emotional range. He had three settings, as far as Ty Lee was concerned: rage, imminent rage, and cold, calculating rage. He was an angry man.

Azula's mother, Ursa, seemed to be a wonderful mother, judging by how she interacted with Zuko – Azula's older brother. That wasn't true though. Ty Lee noted; after staying at the palace for sleepovers and training sessions, and watching what occurred when Ursa came to the Girls' Academy on the rare event that Ozai couldn't; a pattern. Ursa would be completely comfortable around Zuko, she would be capable of hugging him and understanding everything he did. When it came to Azula, however, Ursa seemed to constantly be walking with no idea as to where or how she was walking. She would rarely dare to touch Azula, her conversations with her daughter focused nearly exclusively on what her daughter was doing wrong or inappropriately, and while Ty Lee knew that there was once a time when Ursa called Azula a monster and Azula considered that the root of all her issues with her mother – even if she never admitted to the issues out loud – Ty Lee didn't believe it. Ty Lee couldn't believe that a few instances where Ursa referred to Azula as a monster, either directly or indirectly, would be the root of Azula's maternal issues.

Ty Lee believed – and still believes – that it was those _looks_. Those looks that Ursa would give Azula whenever Azula surpassed previous expectations with flying colours in school, in training, in her 'Princess' classes – whatever those were, Ty Lee never really knew – or when Azula would make note of something that people would only expect someone ten years older than her to make. Somehow, Ursa managed to convey sadness, fury and cold regret in each of those looks. Ty Lee found herself focusing on the sadness, but she knew that Azula wouldn't. Azula's ancestors were responsible for plenty of sadness, to the point where she just took sadness as a fact of life for everyone who wasn't her. No, Azula would focus on the fury and the cold regret. All she would see was her mother being angry and regretful whenever Azula would display the fact that she was, in fact, a child genius and a firebending prodigy. Two facets of her that would make it virtually impossible for her older brother to reach her level. Her older brother, who was always Ursa's favorite child, who always received her hugs, who had the emotional support that Azula never got from her father. Her father being the parent who favoured her.

Anyone who watches their mother dole out affection to their sibling while they receive affection only in the form of curt nods from their father and hugs from one of their friends, Ty Lee believes, is going to develop a skewed sense of what deserves affection. Ty Lee knows she probably has and she's positive that Azula did. She worked, hard – Ty Lee saw first hand how hard Azula worked. She did not go through all those all-nighters drilling Azula on everything from Fire Nation infrastructure to the proper protocol when attending a wedding of the nobility just to forget them. Azula worked incredibly hard because the only time she received those curt nods from her father was when she surpassed previous expectations and became greater than those that came before her. It was the same at the Academy. You received good grades – approximately, affection – if you worked hard and produced something that was remarkable. It was logical for Azula to assume that you had to earn the affection of your mother by working hard and producing something that was remarkable. Or, at least, _she_ had to do that, while her brother just existed and managed to receive affection, something she never stopped resenting him for. So, Azula worked hard and ensured that when she managed to do something perfectly, her mother saw it. Then her mother, Ursa, would see what Azula had accomplished and instead of doling out affection, Ursa would give Azula those _looks_.

It was hardly a healthy mother-daughter relationship.

Make no mistake; Ty Lee was terrified of Azula. A fear of what Azula could do was a healthy fear because Azula had been essentially raised by only her father – who was, as far as Ty Lee was concerned, completely psychotic – and had taught Azula how to at least _act_ psychotic. Ty Lee didn't think that Azula was psychotic, just that Azula knew how to act psychotic, sociopathic, like a mass-murderer, which she had to learn because_ that_ accompanied by being a child genius and firebending prodigy created the moments where those curt nods would come in. Then later those curt nods would lead to her dream of becoming Fire Lord becoming a viable goal in her father' eyes. Her father, the man responsible for naming his successor of the Fire Lord title. Him seeing that as a viable goal was, in every meaning of the word, advantageous.

So, Ty Lee knows Azula. She knows Azula and she knows Zuko and she may not know Ursa or Ozai or Iroh nearly as well, but she knows that family. She knows that the only reason Ozai is even alive despite his condition is because he managed to, when he was still a firebender, do things that made Azula, while not entirely subservient to him, terrified of him. It was like he kept her captive and to survive she just tried to do as much as possible to please him. Even after three years of him being virtually powerless Azula had yet to break that conditioning. Conditioning she had been put through since she was 2-years-old and first bent fire. Then the conditioning was intensified when she was hailed as the Thirteenth Child and First Daughter of Azul.

Three years ago, when Ty Lee was pulled out of her cell with her hands cuffed behind her and her ankles chained together, as usual, and was brought into an interrogation room she had never seen before, she had been certain that the Avatar had won the war and now one of the Avatar's friends was going to question her. Maybe that cute Water Tribe boy. Maybe the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors – she liked the Kyoshi Warriors but she rather doubted that their leader would like her very much considering she had, along with Mai and Azula, gotten her and her warriors thrown into Fire Nation prisons. Still, it would be interesting to properly meet the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors.

But it wasn't the cute Water Tribe boy or the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors.

It was Azula.

Ty Lee had found herself frozen. The Avatar hadn't won. Azula had. Was Zuko dead? If he was dead then Mai would get quieter than usual and probably wind up breaking out of the prison and killing whoever had dared to kill Zuko. But if it was Azula who had killed him then…Ty Lee held no delusions of her and Mai's capabilities. She knows that both of them can be decent opponents against Azula, but Azula has always been the superior strategist and that would always be what would beat them. Not physical skill, no, Ty Lee could beat virtually anyone in terms of physical skill. Not marksmanship, no, Mai could easily become a member of the Yu Yan she was such a good markswoman. The fight would come down to brains and Azula was, without a doubt, the most intelligent member of their group.

Then Ty Lee had actually looked at Azula beyond a first glance, and concern flooded her to her very core.

Azula's gorgeous hair was stained with soot, it was charred at the ends and cut jaggedly, and half of it was falling out of her crown. _Oh spirits, she's Fire Lord now._ Ty Lee was proud of Azula, she had finally achieved her dream, but the pride was overshadowed completely by concern. There were small scratches on Azula's face, her make-up – usually impeccable – was smeared, her eyes were red, bloodshot, there were dark and heavy bags under her eyes, and her face was blotchy with barely perceptible tear tracks along her cheeks. Ty Lee had never seen Azula cry, but with Azula's fair complexion it was inevitable that crying would make her complexion go through some fairly obvious changes.

Azula…wasn't Azula.

"Azula, what happened?" Ty Lee remembered questioning almost immediately, leaning forward with her eyes wide in genuine concern.

Azula had twitched sharply then, looked at the floor, glanced at Ty Lee's feet at the base of the chair, chained, then managed to compose herself and snapped out the question that would overtake the next three years of Ty Lee's life:

"Have you ever come across a way for taking away a person's bending permanently?"

The questions seemed to be a trigger for Azula, sending her flying straight into _Azula_ Azula. The girl who was always in control. The girl who always knew exactly what was going on and what she needed to do. The girl who couldn't be thrown by anything. The tear tracks, bloodshot eyes, bags, scratches, smeared make-up, and charred and chopped hair, was rendered inconsequential. Azula was back, on the surface at least, and she wanted answers.

Ty Lee had never wished to be interrogated by Azula. Azula had been trained to both withstand the harshest of interrogations – torture, in other words – and how to perform the harshest interrogations – torture, again. She had been trained by the Interrogation Kings; her father and the man technically in charge of interrogations for the Fire Nation. Ty Lee really did not want to be interrogated by Azula.

But, then again, this wasn't really an interrogation. It was a conversation between two teenage girls; the first who had just had her world changed irrecoverably in numerous ways and the second who was one of the only people on the planet capable of at least attempting to return the first girl's world to some semblance of normal. And the girls had, once, been friends. Or as close to friends as the first girl would permit.

Ty Lee remembered falling silent for one stunned moment, considering for a split-second that it was Azula who had her bending taken away and that was why she looked so…un-Azula. But Azula must have seen that assumption on her face so Azula had snapped her fingers and a cobalt flame had appeared above her fingertips. Ty Lee couldn't figure out who had lost their bending permanently and she had no idea how that could occur. She told Azula as much. That was when the fear had flickered across Azula's face. The fear passed so quickly across her face that if Ty Lee hadn't known Azula as well as she did, if she hadn't grown up with the girl, she wouldn't have noticed it. But she had, and she did, so she knew.

"Oh Agni, it was your Dad, wasn't it?"

Azula had glared at her then.

"Isn't this a good thing? You don't have to be scared of him anymore," Ty Lee remembered saying. Immediately after she said it she regretted it.

Losing your bending temporarily was terrifying enough for a bender; Ty Lee knew that because she had, for the longest time, been the only person capable of making benders lose their bending temporarily and she had been the first person to see that expression on their face, the sudden realization that, yes, that innocent-looking teenage girl could make one movement, one _tiny_ movement, and reduce you to a heap of unmoving bones and flesh and make you lose a part of yourself that had been a part of yourself _since you were born_. The first time she saw that expression she had nightmares for a week, until Azula stepped in and managed to make her stop fearing that expression, stop regretting the fact that she bothered to learn and become an expert in chi-blocking first out of an attempt to stand out and later just because she loved studying it.

It was horrifying for a bender to lose their bending temporarily. Losing their bending permanently would be a living nightmare, to put it lightly.

The fact that it was Ozai who had lost his bending permanently would have jarred Azula's world to its core. Her entire world, from the moment of her brother's banishment, had revolved around her father. While she was terrified of him she had always watched him be strong and powerful and all-encompassing. Seeing that pillar of virtually unrivaled strength and power be toppled over, permanently, and being toppled over in such a way that could conceivably be personally inflicted upon her, would have not only shook her world to its core but turned it upside down, shook it side-to-side, shoved it in a whirlpool, then chopped it up into bite-sized pieces to be fed to Mai's toddler brother Tom-Tom, who liked to throw his food at the wall and onto the floor.

No wonder Azula looked so un-Azula. She had no idea how to respond to this, how to add this into her worldview. Plus, it looked as though she hadn't slept or eaten in days, so her judgment was inevitably impaired.

The point wasn't Azula being terrified of her father any more or any less. The point was that her entire world had just shifted astronomically mere days after figuring out that her father didn't trust her anymore – while being aware of the fact that the other people he didn't trust inevitably wound up either dead or with half of their faces burned off – and mere hours after her brother had tried to kill her and she had nearly killed her brother. Everything that could possibly hit her _was _hitting her and _had been_ hitting her for the past three days.

Ty Lee knew that she often forgot that Azula was a year younger than her. A year younger than Mai. Ty Lee often forgot that Azula was still just a kid, just a 14-year-old kid back then. The fact that Azula was still standing after everything that had happened to her in such a small timeframe was a clear testament to her endurance, drive and her remarkable ability to clear her mind of all distractions and just _focus_. That was the same ability that made her able to bend lightning at such a young age. Those were the same traits that made her the ideal Fire Lord, at least for governing, making decisions and instilling unwavering faith in her capabilities from her subjects. She had a greater difficulty with empathy and such, which Zuko was more comfortable with, but he wasn't at her level for governing yet.

That was the conversation that led to Ty Lee being able to leave the prison and begin studying Ozai's condition under Azula's watchful-but-tired eyes.

Thus, her morning activity: training with Ozai.

It's the worst part of her day.

No wonder Azula is terrified of her father. The man is obsessive when it comes to training. Despite the fact that she is the expert here in training in chi-blocking he still cannot seem to stop attempting to correct her stance or her knowledge of pressure points. And by 'correcting her stance' she means he tries to hit the body part that is in the wrong position until it gets back into position. She made his arm limp the first time he tried to do that. He tried again and she made his legs limp. She doesn't know if he trained Azula the same way, but, not for the first time, Ty Lee is glad that he lost his bending. She would prefer not to have him trying to correct her stance when he can shoot fireballs at her instead of just try to hit her.

Ty Lee knows for a fact that while Ozai might be brilliant militarily and politically, he is no genius. Not like Azula at least. He does not have the knowledge Azula has on pressure and chi-points and he certainly doesn't have the knowledge that _she_ has on pressure and chi-points. There is a reason Azula turned to Ty Lee for aiding her father. Ty Lee is the world's foremost expert on pressure and chi-points, on chi-blocking. Not Azula – and she knows it – nor Ozai – no matter how much he wants to think otherwise.

Ty Lee is not, contrary to popular – including Ozai's – belief, stupid. Exhibit A: she is the world's foremost expert on chi-blocking. Exhibit B: she is friends with Azula and Azula, being Azula, would never be able to stand being friends with an idiot. Ty Lee also is not, contrary to popular belief, a constant pushover. She picks her fights. Depending on her opponent and the battle – of wits, of fists, etcetera – she may choose to either back down and let her opponent win, or stand up and bring her opponent down.

In the case of Ozai, she is not going to be a pushover.

When he tries to challenge her, she paralyzes him. She's quicker than him, more agile, more flexible, and she has the advantage of having learned how to fight without bending because she has never been nor will she ever be, a bender. Ozai may be stronger than her and more strategic but if he can't land a hit on her then both are essentially useless. Plus, his aura his dying, he simply doesn't have the will or the drive to try to kill her. Also, at this point she is his only hope of regaining his bending so she's valuable to him. The fact that he doesn't even have a little bit of knowledge of chi-blocking – unlike his daughter, who made it her mission to be informed of every possible method of combat – is another point in Ty Lee's favor.

Put simply, Ozai stands no chance against Ty Lee, the circus freak.

(And maybe there's a small spot of Ty Lee, hidden behind the once-buried attention issues and the thrill that comes from being on a tightrope and having everyone cheer and gasp and scream, a spot that hopes that, maybe, if Azula sees her standing up to Ozai that Azula will realize that she is infinitely more powerful, more dangerous than her father, and there is nothing he can do to destroy her. That he does not have the power to keep her under his thumb, that he cannot and _does not _have the right to treat her like a tool any longer. And he shouldn't have had the opportunity to treat her like a tool, like a weapon of war, in the first place.)

She just wants her friend back. Back and happy and as great as Ty Lee knows she was born to be.

The training session ends two hours later with Ty Lee dominating, as has been the case for the last six months when it finally began to get through Ozai's head that he was in no way superior to the circus freak.

It occurs to Ty Lee as she is cleaning up that she might just be breaking Ozai even more instead of doing what she's supposed to do and fixing him. She figures that's more than he deserves though. He nearly destroyed his own daughter. He burned off half of his own son's face and tried to destroy said son. He plotted the murder of his own father, and Ty Lee has heard rumors that he ordered the death of his wife.

If she – the circus freak, the runaway who joined the circus, the girl who is never the threatening one because she's all smiles and laughter and pep and pink, the girl who might flirt too much and might gossip too much – is the one to take him down to where he deserves to be (rotting and crying on his knees while everyone he ever dared to hurt stands over him) then she won't do it halfway.

Ty Lee braids her mahogany hair again and steps out of her room in the palace of the Phoenix King. She is garbed almost completely in pink and white, her calves bare, her soft shoes bright against the darkness of the floor, and her silver eyes flick to the right as she hears the familiar clink of metal against metal accompanied by heavier footsteps and an aura that has yet to stop shifting in confusion.

"Loki!" she greets cheerfully, reflexively noting his various pressure points, as signaled by his aura. Even though his aura is shifting his points of weakness remain the same, just like everyone else.

His aura flickers in irritation at the sight of her. She knows that he doesn't particularly like her; that he considers her a toy, someone easy to manipulate, and maybe she is but that doesn't change the fact that he has his points of weakness and she knows every single one.

Besides, while she knows that he genuinely enjoys toying with people's minds, manipulating people, winning fights with brain rather than brawn, and all of that is terrifying to most people, well, his methods are far too similar to Azula to terrify her. Additionally, she gets the sense that while he has Azula's methods he has _Zuko's_ motivations, and she knows Zuko nearly as well as she knows Azula.

Zuko wanted his father's love, though he claimed before that it was honour he was after, and he did everything possible to get his father to appreciate him, to love him. Azula, while she did want the love of her parents, was nearly always more focused on survival and becoming Fire Lord and changing the world like she always knew she could.

Loki was used and abused by one of his parents. Probably his father, judging by how he looks down so intensely on Ozai. He wanted, at the very least, his father's positive attention. Not even love. Just acknowledgement that, yes, he was good at something. Just like Zuko.

Loki probably had a sibling who was viewed as superior to him.

Ty Lee knew that feeling. With six identical sisters it was difficult not to. So did Mai after the birth of her little brother, and Azula, when her mother started favouring Zuko and ignoring her. Zuko, to his father, was viewed as inferior to his younger sister for nearly his entire life.

"I'm confused," she says, bounding to keep up with his long strides.

"Imagine that," he remarks drily.

She's incredibly grateful that he has not attempted to enter her mind like he did with Azula. He genuinely believes her to be an idiot. She's fine with that. It's not as if the assumption is new, and she knows she can be an airhead at times.

"You're super powerful and all," she waves her hand vaguely at him, "and you could leave here, like, anytime you want, but you're staying here. I don't get why." She looks at him sideways, "Do you need help or something? Do you have a plan for doing something big and need an army or something and you think that staying here and getting on Ozai's good side will get you an army?"

He chuckles, "Your assumptions are so juvenile."

His aura flickers though, pausing in its shifting long enough for her to discern that she – or, more correctly, Azula – hit the nail on the head. That is not surprising to Ty Lee and she knows it will not be surprising to Azula, but Azula likes confirmation, so this is nice.

"And that man, that so-called Phoenix, is a pathetic excuse for a king," Loki adds scathingly. Clearly, the issue is personal for him.

If he was a king as he claimed then he probably took the throne from someone he viewed as inferior, or, he had the throne taken from him by that someone. That was yet another one of Azula's deductions from the month with Loki residing in the Phoenix King's palace as an 'honoured guest'.

Ty Lee figures Azula can relate to that situation.

"I'm gonna grab some breakfast, are you coming?" Ty Lee questions with a welcoming grin, switching the topic abruptly.

"And eat that mortal hash?" Loki sneers incredulously. "I think not."

She shrugs, "Suit yourself." She does a roundoff, followed quickly by a backflip that turns almost immediately into a back handspring.

Loki actually stops, watching as she pauses after the back handspring then walks on her hands around the corner. He raises an eyebrow and glances on either side, wondering if anyone else found her behavior as odd and insipidly annoying. Unfortunately, no one was around to further validate his irritation. He sighs.

**Vata 3, 103 ASC – 21:36 EST**

Fire Lord Azula leans back in her bed, running over calculations across her tablet as behind her a beautiful woman garbed in jewels and sheer fabric across her hips runs her manicured hands against the Fire Lord's back.

The Fire Lord stopped bothering with attempting to flirt a year ago. It was much more efficient to simply build up a collection of people to pick-and-choose from. And she could still fine-tune her manipulation skills when bringing more people into her collection so it was a win-win situation. They got money, beautiful clothes, the glory of her company, and a high status, while she got practice, pleasure, and the ability to irritate her father without him having the ability to punish her for irritating him because, technically, she was doing nothing wrong. All Fire Lords had people in their company specifically to pleasure them.

It helps her exercise her ability to multitask. While Anata sits behind her and massages her bare back she will run over her budget calculations and ensure that she is able to accomplish everything she wants to without throwing the Fire Nation into bankruptcy. Anata, gorgeous, topless, and a firebender trained to kill, is a decent distraction and therefore a decent test for Azula to put her multitasking through.

"Azula!"

Anata doesn't move from her position of massaging Azula. Similarly, the half-naked man standing ready to serve Azula some cherries, and his partner bending fire to give the room a comforting and mildly distracting orange glow, do not cease performing their tasks.

Ty Lee pauses, glancing at the two men, and waves cheerfully, "Hi Shan, hi Lee!" She winks at them and then hurries to Azula, greeting Anata on the way, "Hi Anata!" The men and woman smile at her in return.

"What is it Ty Lee?" Azula questions, barely looking up from her tablet.

"You're gonna be so happy! I've got the report, firstly, and second, I've finished that _maaaap_ you wanted!"

Azula's right eyebrow shoots up and she quickly sends a hand-signal to Anata, Shan and Lee. They promptly pull on their respective robes and vacate her quarters. Azula waits until she's certain the three have left before she secures her room and pulls on her shirt as she moves back on the bed to give Ty Lee some room. Ty Lee sits quickly beside Azula and pulls up her own tablet, quickly displaying an image of an adult male's body filled with various pink and purple dots and lines.

"The pink lines are his chi-paths," Ty Lee explains, handing the tablet to Azula to inspect. "The dots are the main chi-points I could find. The purple dots are the pressure-points that do not double as chi-points. Then here," she reaches over Azula to tap another button which causes green lines to spread throughout the male's body, "are the paths that are not chi-paths, or any other path of the body, like the circulatory system, but are something _completely _different."

Azula frowns, "What do you think they are?"

"I think they're the main source of his powers, his magic. They help him manipulate energies, sort of like our chi-paths but while our chi-paths are affected by the world around us, like his chi-paths, these other lines…energy-lines, aren't. They're only affected by either him or, I think, I don't actually know, similar energy. So…someone else who uses magic. But they look…sick or something."

"How do you know they look sick if you've never seen them before?"

"Um…it's a gut feeling." She pauses then continues hesitantly, "You…you aren't around here as often as I am, Azula. I see him every single day and there are days where he just looks _sick_ and his energy-lines look _wrong_. I just, _know,_ instinctively, that there is something wrong with his energy-lines. Y'know, like how you just know that there's something wrong with fire you're not in control of."

Azula nods, "So he's sick. But not sick like normal people get. He is sick in his energy?"

"His aura's really confused right now. It's like his aura is infected by something, sort of like your Dad's aura is since the Avatar thing, but while your Dad's aura is basically dead-" Ty Lee winces as Azula's eyes narrow sharply at the word and her grip on the tablet tightens, "sorry. Loki's aura isn't…like your Dad's. His aura is infected like your Dad's but it isn't as...badly infected I guess? Like, your Dad's aura has an incurable disease while Loki's aura has a curable disease so it isn't quite as bad but it's sort of worse at the same time, y'know?"

Azula pauses, mulling over Ty Lee's words. After a moment she ventures, "You said that my aura was confused before. Was mine infected too?"

"No. Just…confused."

"So his aura isn't confused, it's infected."

"Er…I guess so. I guess he's the one who's confused, but…no. No, that's not…No, his aura is confused because it's a part of him and he's confused or something but…something really weird is going on Azula."

"What's the source?"

"Pardon?"

"What's the source of his aura's infection?"

"Ummm…"

"Are there moments where it seems less infected?"

"Yeah."

"So there would have to be moments where it seems more infected. What are those moments? What's different about all those days when compared to regular days?"

Ty Lee ponders the question, "He spends a lot more time in his quarters on those days. He's angrier too."

Azula looks back at the image of the man. She closes the image and orders Ty Lee, "Figure out everything you can about those energy-lines. Make friends with him or something."

"He doesn't like me."

"Then annoy him so that you can see what his energy-lines do when he's angry."

Ty Lee hesitates then nods, "Okay."

"What about my father?"

"Nothing's changed. I want to ask the Avatar how he did it, because I can't figure it out at all!" Ty Lee exclaims. "It's like the mystery of life!"

Azula falls silent and Ty Lee takes her cue to leave. Ty Lee pauses at the doorway though, anxious. She turns her head back to Azula and questions hesitantly, "Azula?"

"What?"

"When…you said that you had a special job of Mai but…" Ty Lee swallows as Azula's eyes narrow dangerously. Immediately, Ty Lee continues hastily, "I really miss her and I wanna see her so I was wondering when you're gonna let her come here or to your place because I..." Ty Lee trails off, watching as Azula's gaze drops to the floor, then the tablets in front of her.

"Mai's job is extremely important Ty Lee. I cannot have her being distracted."

"I wouldn't-"

"You need to be here."

Ty Lee licks her lips, recognizing the end of the conversation and the 'you' that was nearly switched with 'need' preceded by an 'I'.

"You aren't going to tell me where she is, are you?" Ty Lee questions somberly.

"That would be inadvisable."

Ty Lee hopes there's an 'at the moment' at the beginning or the end of that sentence.

"Okay. I'll see tomorrow morning, Azula. Sleep well, don't let the spark-bugs bite!" Ty Lee waves cheerfully then slips out through the double doors.

Azula stares at her tablets for another moment, silently pondering the status of Mai and her mission. She knows she made the right choice, giving Mai that position. Mai is intelligent and aware enough of the intricacies of politics and the underground to handle herself well. She knows that she made the right choice to keep Ty Lee out of that loop and focused solely on the affairs here, in the Phoenix King's Palace. She knows that she is making the right decisions. She just hates it when she is apparently the only person aware of that fact.

Azula darts off her bed and heads straight through the large set of doors to her right that lead into her study. She promptly presses a button hidden underneath her desk and gets her retina scanned by the scanner that pops out of the wall. In the same instant she breathes into another scanner a stream of blue flame. She's accepted and the wall promptly slides back, revealing a long platinum staircase. She immediately strides down it and enters a large room covered in extremely pure metals, high-tech equipment and layers upon layers of information buried _everywhere._ She immediately heads to the centre computer and pulls up the information she has on the Extra-Terrestrial Intruder.

One of the first entries to the file was a recording of Loki when, two days after he invaded her mind, he requested to see where he had landed. He had disappeared for an hour on that day. It took her 72 hours to finally get the footage she needed to figure out what he had been doing in that hour. Their underwater cameras – developed for the Fire Nation Navy a couple years ago – had been good for something because while they failed to pick up the object when it had fallen alongside him they did pick up him carrying the object in that missing hour. It was a staff, gold, sharp, pointed, almost a spear. Resting near its top, cradled in two asymmetrical golden arms, was a ball of blue energy that reminded Azula of her flames and lightning. The energy readings the cameras picked up from it were off the charts. Once again, similar to her flames and lightning.

Suffice to say, Azula was intrigued by the staff. Somehow, Loki managed to hide the staff long enough to store it somewhere in the guest quarters and she had been unable to get anyone to search his quarters yet thanks to his powers so she had yet to physically see it. Now, she was leaning towards the idea that someone would have to distract him, hold_ all_ of his attention – as in, every speck of processing power in that brain of his, just to be safe – long enough for someone else to break into his room and find that staff, inspect it for a bit and then get back to her with the information. Preferably, a firebender would be doing that.

If he was anyone else Azula would have gotten Ty Lee to distract him. Ty Lee was good at that. But Loki couldn't stand being in Ty Lee's company for more than an hour and they would probably need at least an hour to locate the damn thing, plus a few more hours, minimum, to get some initial readings on it. He holds a similar opinion of her father and, frankly, she doesn't trust her father in his current condition to be able to distract Loki long enough.

Really, she has only one option. She'll have to distract Loki. And she'll have to do so while keeping him as far out of her mind as possible, probably with mental flames and lightning again, to ensure he doesn't realize what she is doing.

It won't be difficult to do, distracting him.

She knows that he has issues. Familial issues, control issues, etcetera. He's like Zuko in that sense, with a bit of herself thrown in there for variety's sake. She also knows that he wants to use her power to accomplish…something…something which is probably conquering someplace or someone. A task which is presumably centered around, or at least heavily affected by that staff, and, obviously, her capabilities, which he wants to manipulate in his favour.

Loki can just try and manipulate her.

He should probably keep in mind that he is a failed king stranded on a foreign world while she is the conqueror and king of said foreign world.

She holds all of the Pai Sho tiles, but he can certainly try to take them.

At the very least, it will be cheap entertainment.

* * *

**A/N: **This will be updating _very extremely slowly_. As in...1 chapter every 2 months slowly. I do apologize for that.

_**IMPORTANT: **Check my profile for progress updates on stories, including this one! ie: when to expect a new chapter, hints for what the next chapter will include, occasionally some background info on oneshots etc._

Anyway…it is my headcanon that Ty Lee and Mai are both older than Azula because Azula…let's put it simply…she took over a country no one else could take over in all of history at the age of **fourteen **in less than a month or so and did so **without** a freaking army. She's brilliant and trained Like A Boss. Thus, she skipped at least one grade and met Ty Lee and Mai in Fire Nation Kindergarten after becoming Queen of the Preschoolers and taking over the playground and decided, hey, these are some pretty badass Kindergarteners, I'm gonna get them to join me so we can skip through the fields being badasses together. Then she got moved up a grade and the rest is history.

Um, yeah, and Azula has a harem. It's her attempt at teenage rebellion. It's difficult to rebel traditionally (staying out late etc.) when you rule a planet from backstage and a country front-and-centre.

Vata = October

Pai Sho = popular game in A:tLA & a method of communication for White Lotus members...if you don't know that then you clearly have not been watching A:tLA, in which case, watch it. Now. Before you continue reading this story. It is important.

**Thank you my wonderful reviewers, you have made me type. I blame you (& my crossover loving mind) for this continuation ;D.**

**R&R**


	3. Chapter 2

**Rating: M**

_Avatar: The Last Airbender, Legend of Korra, and The Avengers do not belong to me. I am merely mixing together the sandboxes._

**Warnings: AU [see **_**Chapter Warnings**_**]**

**Synopsis: When your own flames burn you but you're too stubborn to fall, your only option is to walk through the flames. Or, in which Azula meets another second-born and throws her planet into the world of intergalactic war. Azula-centric. **

* * *

_**Chapter Warning(s): violence, coarse language, discussion of war, tyranny, child abduction & child abuse**_

* * *

**Second-Born**

"_Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge."_

Lao Tzu

**Chapter 2**

* * *

**The Prison Tower, Royal Caldera City, Fire Nation, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Enlil 7, 103 ASC – 03:17 CPT**

Twenty-five-year-old Lieutenant Ming grew up with a father who was absent, having gone off to fight in the war in the Earth Kingdom. Her mother always said that, as a child, she had dreamed of joining her father. Of fighting the bad guys with him.

Ming remembers her mother taking her face in her hands and telling her firmly, "In war, people try and make you think that your enemies are lesser and undeserving of basic decency. Those people are wrong. You will only be respected if you respect your enemies."

Ming remembers her mother studying history and reciting for her the past glories and failures of the Fire Nation. She remembers her mother explaining that the Fire Nation was not infallible. That no nation was infallible. That the Fire Nation they currently lived in was not what the Fire Nation was supposed to be. The Fire Nation was never supposed to be the national equivalent of death and destruction. Fire was never supposed to be unbridled destruction and chaos. Fire was never supposed to be responsible for the deaths of millions. The Fire Nation was supposed to be a nation equal to the others, a nation whose glories came in industry and technological advancement. Fire was supposed to be unbridled life and passion. Fire was supposed to be responsible for bringing people up from their pain and terror and turning them into something great.

Her knowledge of firebending came from her mother. Her father was a non-bender, but skilled with explosives. He was a serene man, perfectly at ease with the world exploding around him, until it exploded with him inside it. Her mother was always more expressive, but no less serene. She got her serenity through her expression. She wrote scathing documents criticizing the Fire Nation's use of propaganda, done most subtly through heavily-edited school textbooks, and was one of the first people to suggest that the only reason Fire Lord Azulon opened up the military to women was to keep his wife from killing him. It was not to battle sexism. It was to protect himself.

Ming remembers, as a teenager, laughing at her mother's criticisms. Trying to get her to tone down her hatred for, in her words, 'how far the Fire Nation has fallen.'

Two years after her father died due to an explosion in the Earth Kingdom, her mother vanished.

Ming remembers being taken in by soldiers nine years ago. They were nice, but she remained suspicious of them. Ming has no doubt that the only reason she remained alive after her mother's disappearance and her own capture is because her older sister – a loyal supporter of the Royal Family who worked as a maid in the palace, and was married to another loyal supporter who worked at a communications outpost for the navy – managed to convince the soldiers to let her go into her custody. To this day, Ming has no confirmation of her mother's status. She may have just been sent off to the Isle of Ilah, where, reportedly, most traitors go, or she may have been killed, or she may be stuck in some secret area Ming knows nothing of, being used by the Fire Nation.

Ming loves the Fire Nation, but not this one. Ming loves the Fire Nation her mother showed her. The one built on passion and ambition, the one fueled by unbridled life. The one ruled by a benevolent but fierce individual who exemplifies everything the Fire Nation is supposed to be.

Fire Lord Azula, in Ming's opinion, is not that ruler. However, she only expresses her displeasure with the leadership of Fire Lord Azula and Phoenix King Ozai in ways that she cannot be punished for. She knows how to sneak around the authorities, it helps that she is an authority herself, and she has connections from her mother's life who carry around the same White Lotus tile she does.

Thus, for those who know her, her impassive expression when she opens the doors to admit her fellow soldiers and their prisoner is telling. Her eyes flick to the prisoner, a woman garbed completely in black with skin as fair as summer day clouds, lips as red as the palace in Royal Caldera City, and hair as black as ink that is slowly escaping from its confinement in a silver skull hair ornament. Her whip hangs from the belt of one of the soldiers, and her lone combat knife is gone. Her red snake tattoos on her shoulders are stark against the fairness of her skin, the darkness of her sleeveless shirt decorated with numerous belts, and her long fingerless gloves. Her boots, also strapped tightly with belts, click against the ground as she straightens minutely and her one visible grey eye flicks to the amber eyes of Lt. Ming.

A flash of recognition, then, nothing but her former frustration and arrogance.

June, the world's most prolific bounty hunter, permits herself to be pushed past Ming and into the depths of the prison.

She isn't startled when Ming grabs her arms, cuffed behind her back, and takes her from the other soldiers to lead her deeper. She just walks.

As ordered, Ming takes June into the assigned interrogation room, and with the assistance of the other prison guards restrains her to the chair in the centre of the barren room. Ming walks out, as ordered, her hands clasping behind her back in two small movements. June's eyes flick from Ming's hands and looks up at the cameras as the door slides shut. She raises an unimpressed eyebrow and sits as comfortably as she possibly can in the uncomfortable chair and hot room.

What, are they trying to cook her?

She isn't surprised when they make her wait for what has to be four hours before someone else enters the room.

It's a man, unsurprisingly, even with the inclusion of women in the military it is still dominantly comprised of men. He's wearing his uniform, which identifies him as a General, surprisingly enough, who earned a couple medals for his valor. He's shorter than her, probably about 5'3", and built to be compact. His hairline is receded and the grey hair he still has is tied back into the common half-topknot found throughout the Fire Nation. His grey goatee is thin and sharp but not to the point where he could be said to be attempting to imitating the traditional facial hair of the Fire Lord. His eyes are amber and he doesn't seem uncomfortable in the heat, which is making her sweat, so he's probably a firebender. Therefore, the sidearm and combat knife he has hanging from his belt are probably investments he made himself and was granted permission from the military to carry them when in uniform. He is probably in good standing then with the military. Quick, efficient, intelligent, and a decent combatant who follows orders and can give them.

All-in-all, June can assume that he is good at his job.

The larger, more physically intimidating men who had entered ahead of him stand on either side of her, ready to react should she attempt to harm anyone. She doesn't ignore them but she does pay less attention to them than she pays to the General.

He turns the tablet in his calloused and scarred hands over so that she can see what's on the screen. It's a photograph of Nyla, her Shirshu. The giant animal with the long snout and tongue, thick tail, brown fur and flesh, and superior sense of smell that makes up for her inability to see. In the fight that resulted in the Fire Nation bringing her in, Nyla was taken from her. Only after infecting at least fifteen soldiers with her paralytic poison, yes, and June was quite pleased about that, but Nyla was still taken from her. Nyla was her baby girl, her best friend in traipsing across the world, taking jobs, tracking people down through a combination of Nyla's nose and June's skills, then bringing their targets down and sending them to their client of that moment before receiving their pay.

June can't see herself being anything but a bounty hunter. Except, perhaps, a badass old lady kicking her feet up on a big ole' pile of money and effortlessly schooling the young'uns in the ancient art of kicking ass while, naturally, drinking a combination of really good tea and alcohol.

Glorious.

The photograph itself isn't particularly alarming. It's just of Nyla eating. June looks up at the General expectantly. She sincerely hopes he isn't going to try and intimidate her because, frankly, about 20% of the people she hunted down were about as intimidating as a person could get and she still took them down. The other 80% were made up of people who were really pathetic, or were people who were, in common society's terms "good" and simply needed to be found by the "bad" guys for an obscenely high price.

She did that once for the Fire Nation.

Fire Lord Azula's rep contacted her and paid her upfront more money than June had ever been paid before for a job, ever, and got her to locate some guy named Kuei and a bear. She knew that the former Earth King had been named Kuei but, since the Earth Kingdom had a habit of regarding their rulers as spirits who merely resided on the mortal plane for whatever reason, she knew little else. He was male and was called Kuei and, supposedly, he had a bear. That was it.

She had never made it a point to know who was hiring her. As long as they paid her, she did the job. If they didn't pay her, well, she got Nyla to paralyze them then she took the money she deserved. Being paid upfront without having told the client that she needed to be paid upfront was rare, so she knew, before she received the name of her target, that it was a Big Deal type of job. Once she received the name and some information to go off, she figured out that she was, in fact, hunting down the former Earth King and his pet bear, Bosco.

She got sent more money then and June was forced to wonder how closely, exactly, her clients were watching her if they knew exactly when to send her more money the instant she found out that her target was, in fact, the former Earth King and his pet bear.

She did the job. Located him and his bear within the month and deposited both Kuei and his bear where her client wanted them deposited. She got paid – she had never had so much money – and went on her way. She never found out what happened to Kuei and his bear. Dead, probably. She could care less. He wasn't a very good king for the Earth Kingdom, and despite her reservations about the current Earth Queen and Fire Lord, at least the girl can make a decision and actually rule her country instead of just sitting back in the shadows and never letting anyone see her face.

"You know a fair bit about this animal, correct?" the General inquires.

June shoots him a look that clearly communicates _'idiot'_.

"Answer me."

June snorts in disdain and leans back as well as possible in her restraints. She can feel sweat dripping down between her breasts and across her hips, down her legs and into her boots. Disgusting.

She supposes he might still be irritated by the fact that the paralytic they used on her failed to work properly. Idiots. As if she wouldn't make herself develop immunity to most toxins, especially those used to paralyze, when her most trusted and consistent companion is a Shirshu, an animal capable of paralyzing anyone with only a flick of its tongue. If there's one thing she knows better than tracking, it's toxins.

She remains silent as he continues to question her, flames dancing on his fingertips. She remains silent as he threatens her, as his enforcers move closer, intent on gripping her arms and creating bruises in the shapes of their fingers. As if she's never had bruises before.

"_You are getting better, Akiho."_

"_You must learn to see everything at once."_

"_Use all your senses, Akiho."_

"_You are not fond of the sword are you?"_

"_Using your agility and youth to your advantage, clever."_

"_The pain will leave. As long as you remember that, you will be able to push it away long enough to survive."_

The General leans closer to her, flames at his fingertips. Her feet snap up, nailing him in the jaw. He staggers backwards and immediately she ducks forward, balancing on her feet to keep the chair off the ground before backing up sharply and slamming one of the enforcers into the wall, squished between her chair and the wall. She darts forward, rolling sideways to dodge the second enforcer before leaping back and slamming the enforcer to the ground, the chair crashing between them.

She supposes they chose a wooden chair just in case they wanted to burn whoever they were interrogating. The wood _would_ make the fire more threatening to most.

The metal cuffs remain around her wrists as well as the wood arms connected to them, so she uses them. She dodges the General's fireblasts and swiftly uses the wood to block the enforcer's moves to punch her. She flips the second enforcer over her body, sending him careening straight into the General. Without hesitation, she dodges the first enforcer and kicks open the door.

"_Always be aware of your surroundings."_

She's aware, so she moves, disarming the nearest guard and using his sidearm to send a bullet through the leg of the enforcer pursuing her. He crumples and she turns, simultaneously grabbing the guard she had disarmed to use him as a shield against the bullets that are threatening to rain down on her.

From the head office of the prison, Fire Lord Azula watches as the security cameras are taken out. The prison warden moves quickly, sending out orders as the guards move to their stations. She wants to see if June will manage to escape. If she does, the chances of her leading them to her contacts is more than likely, which is wonderful. Azula is not about to jeopardize that chance. June may show them that she's worth noticing for more than her knowledge of Shirshu, toxins, and the shady deals of those who can afford her.

Azula watches, silent, as June gets through blockade after blockade, using stealth whenever possible, managing to hack through their security systems with the ease of one who had to learn to survive through theft before finding another career path. Some things, such as hacking, breaking-and-entering, and escaping, apparently, never leave you. Azula is unsurprised.

June's past is difficult to dig up, but not impossible. It just requires the right resources.

::: Sir, we've lost contact with the prisoner. ::: the message comes through the com-link loud and clear.

"Well find her!" the warden snaps. He turns sharply to the Fire Lord, fear on his face, "You have my word that we will locate the escaped prisoner."

"Search, if you want," Azula says. "But you won't find her."

He looks surprised, fearful.

"She hunts people trying to disappear, or who have already disappeared, for a living, warden," Azula points out. "You think she doesn't know a thing or two about remaining hidden herself?"

The warden swallows.

"I want interviews done of every single one of your guards," Azula orders. "Get them to me, quickly."

Lt. Ming, short one White Lotus tile, nods respectfully as the Fire Lord departs. The Fire Lord doesn't bother acknowledging her existence.

* * *

**Royal Caldera City, Fire Nation, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Enlil 8, 103 ASC – 21:32 CPT**

June lets the tips of her fingers brush across the White Lotus tile stored in one of her pockets. She exhales and sways out of the alleyway, looking exactly not how June the Bounty Hunter is supposed to look. She laid low for the rest of the day after escaping the prison but now is growing frustrated by the lack of a whip at her waist. She wants her weapon back, and judging from the information that one soldier gave her while begging her to spare his life, rumors say that the Fire Nation has Nyla in a less-than-ideal locale in the Earth Kingdom. She killed the soldier once he couldn't give her anymore information and then moved on to head to her contacts in the city.

That's why she is walking into the tavern her old school-mate Lee – she knows far too many Lees – owns.

Lee Saito is a large man in his twenties, with the same fair complexion as her. His dark hair is pulled back into its usual topknot and he specializes in using his firebending when mixing and cooking. An old burn across the stump of his right leg is covered by his pants and alludes to his time in the military before a boulder obliterated ¾ of his right leg. He had to burn the stump to keep from bleeding out, and then spent the next six weeks as a war prisoner. When he was rescued – by her, she was paid by his family to find him and found not only him but 12 others – he returned to the Fire Nation and decided to help out in his cousin's tavern. He now operates it alongside his cousin's wife and makes some additional money on the side smuggling information to various groups. His specialty lies in getting information on prisoners so June figures that, at this point, he is her best option for figuring out where, exactly, the military is keeping her baby.

His amber eyes find her immediately and recognition crosses his face. He immediately pulls a drink out for her. She can get everything in this place for free thanks to his family's gratitude for her finding him, so she doesn't pull out any of the money she got off the soldier. She grabs the drink then strides into the back amidst the raucous laughter in the front. With a quick survey of the back room she finds no one who could bring trouble and strides up the back stairs to the rooms where the Saito family lives above the tavern. She makes herself at home, drinking, until Lee comes up with a frown creasing his face.

"What do you need?" he questions immediately.

"They took Nyla," June explains, taking her feet off the table and leaning forward. "The military took her and are holding her somewhere. They probably want to know if they can find anymore Shirshu, use their toxins to their advantage."

"You sure?" Lee inquires, crossing his arms over his barrel chest as his metal leg scrapes across the floor. "How can you be sure?"

"That's what I would do."

"And the military is just like you?"

"Today they are."

Lee purses his lips then turns to face the map on the wall. He points to Ba Sing Se, "You ever hear of Lake Laogai?"

"Vaguely," June admits.

"It's underground," Lee continues. "You'll need an earthbender to get in. A good one."

"And she'll be there?"

"We thought it was destroyed years ago but my intel says it's still operational. It's probably a lot more sophisticated than before."

"But you don't know what's in there."

"You need a big, concealed place to hide a Shirshu, and if they're experimenting with her toxins they'll probably want to do that nearby, so they need more space," Lee says. He points to Ba Sing Se, "This city is the size of a small country and Lake Laogai is both beneath the city and the lake so it's massive. This is my best guess."

June rises, "Alright."

"Hang on," Lee grabs her shoulder. "You have an earthbender in mind?"

She does, but she looks at him quizzically anyway, "You have a suggestion?"

"He calls himself The Boulder, but his real name's Bolin Yamada. He trained with The Blind Bandit."

June raises an eyebrow, "And where can I find him?"

"Have you ever heard of The Republic?"

June smirks, "Of course I have."

* * *

**The Republic, Earth Kingdom, Mah****ā****bh****ūta**

**Enlil 20, 103 ASC – 21:23 WET**

Zuko presses his hand to his face habitually, the pads of his fingers resting against the faux flesh covering half of his face, hiding his scar from view. He doesn't notice himself doing it and just as habitually lets his hand fall back to his cup of steaming tea as his amber eyes look around the room.

His house is small on the surface, made for one person. There's another door that leads further underground and into a series of tunnels that remind him of the bunkers back in the Fire Nation, just smaller. Few people beyond himself, the Minister of The Republic, the person who put him here, and his few allies from above, know of the existence of the tunnels. He has no doubt that the knowledge of the tunnels is spreading throughout The Republic though.

The Minister of The Republic is sitting beside him at the moment. She's sipping her own tea – he made it and, surprisingly, it isn't terrible by his standards – and managing to watch him without making it seem as though she's watching him.

"She's late," Zuko says, his grip on his cup tightening.

"She'll be here," Mai says. "Go meditate or something, you're getting anxious."

"I'm fine."

She shoots him a _look_.

He stands.

"Zuzu, don't leave on our account," a feminine voice croons as the door swings open to admit her and the man behind her.

Zuko frowns, "Who's that?"

"A friend," Azula answers cryptically, striding into the room and pulling off her hood to reveal her currently brown eyes and short brown hair.

The friend is tall, taller than Azula by at least a foot, and taller than Zuko by about 8 inches. He's pale with black hair that is slicked back just past his shoulders, has bright Earth Kingdom green eyes that match the various shades of green he has on his outfit, and the green is set off by black accompanied by gold. He grimaces at the low ceiling as his head just barely brushes the ceiling and causes a couple strands of hair to stick up.

"Just sit down," Azula says impatiently, pushing the friend towards the table.

"Spirits Zuko," Mai says impatiently, rising and grabbing the tea kettle. "You want tea, right Azula?"

"Pour it, pour some for him too," she adds, gesturing to her friend, who is looking around the room with an appraising, superior expression, "you made it, right Mai?"

"Zuko did."

"Don't pour me any then."

Zuko shoots her a glare as he sits, "It isn't that bad."

"You would think, having traveled with that tea-loving kook for so long, that you would have picked up the basics of tea-brewing."

"You don't know how to brew tea," Zuko argues, ignoring the 'tea-loving kook' line. He's had enough of arguing with her over their Uncle's intelligence and goodness, it became pointless years ago.

"Of course I do, I know everything, where'd you learn the Dragon Dance?"

"The Su-" Zuko stops abruptly and shoots a second glare at his younger sister.

Azula crosses her arms over her chest. Smirking at Zuko, she questions, "Friend?"

"The Sun Warriors," the friend says with a smirk.

Zuko twitches.

"Truth, apparently," Azula says with a raised eyebrow, watching her brother fail miserably at attempting to recover from his reaction to the friend's statement. "Agni, Zuzu, that was pathetic. You need to work on that. So, how, exactly, did you learn that from the Sun Warriors? They're dead. Please don't tell me you bathed in their ashes or something."

The Sun Warriors were the society that came before the Fire Nation. The only reason Azula knows what she does know about them, which admittedly isn't very much, is because she was privileged enough to be a Child of Azul and therefore have access to the library and archives of the Fire Sages. There is no way Zuko can know more than her about the Sun Warriors. He didn't have access to the library and archives of the Fire Sages, and even if he did, the likelihood of him taking advantage of that access is slim. Azula is, understandably, skeptical.

Zuko presses his lips together into a thin line, refusing to say anything else.

"The Sun Warrior ruins," the friend says, staring at Zuko without blinking. "The Sun Warriors are hidden in the ruins of their old society."

Azula's second eyebrow joins the first, "Well, that's an accomplishment."

Zuko's eyebrows shoot up, "How did you-"

"He's like Ty Lee," Azula explains, causing Mai to frown slightly as she sets the cup of tea in front of him. "He has some special talents." She focuses on Mai, "I need to speak with you. Zuko, don't bother taking any critique he has on tea. He doesn't know anything about tea."

The friend frowns. Azula turns sharply and heads with Mai into the back bedroom, leaving Zuko and the friend alone in the kitchen/dining/living area.

The friend sips some of the tea and has no visible reaction to the taste. He sets the steaming cup down and smirks as he studies Zuko, "So, you're her brother."

Zuko glares at him.

"Oh, don't be like that. I may be the younger sibling as well but that doesn't mean I don't know you."

"Who are you?"

He smirks.

"Right, you're taking orders from my sister and she probably told you to act mysterious just to get me riled up enough to reveal all of that."

He smirks and raises the cup to his lips.

"Are you a bender?"

"No."

"Then what's your talent? Azula wouldn't call you a friend if you couldn't benefit her in some way with your skills."

"I have many skills and talents, and your sister knows a fair amount of them."

"And you're following her orders? Why?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"I'm not following her orders."

"Really? Then why are you here, and not fighting for your kingdom? _Why _are you not obliterating _everything_ that stands in your peoples' way to peace?" He demands, leaning forward sharply.

"Obliterating everything in sight will just start another war," Zuko responds, his frown deepening. "We've already had a century long war. I won't be responsible for starting another one."

"And you don't think your sister will become responsible for starting another one?"

"Azula always lies, and always knows what she's doing. If she says she wants a war, she doesn't."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I know she still has good in her."

"How?"

"She saved my life, and the life of one of my friends."

"And that is enough to make up for a lifetime of evil?"

Zuko glowers, "I was bad once, because bad was all I knew, that was all I thought I could be. She's been bad because that's all she knows. We grew up in the same house. We had the same father. We were surrounded by war and lies and pain from the moment we were born. Bad is all she knows to do, but she's learning about good. She has good in her. She does."

Zuko sounds as if he's trying to convince himself more than the other man.

Azula strides out of the bedroom with Mai close behind, her emotions hidden. Azula barks at her friend, "Let's go."

He rises as she strides out through the front door, pulling up her hood. "You realize," he says to Zuko abruptly, "that she doesn't lie nearly as much as you think she does."

"Uh-huh, and I guess she told you that. Right?"

"I am the God, a Spirit of Lies, Zuko," he says with a wide smirk. "She can never lie to me, no one can. I know every single lie she has ever told and there is not nearly as many as you think." He pulls his hood back up at Zuko's puzzled expression, "That's right, Zuko, your little sister took over the world with more truth than lies."

He leaves.

Zuko groans as the door shuts, "She always does that! She always uses someone else to trip me up! Some…crazy person who thinks he's a Spirit."

"His name is Loki," Mai supplies after a moment. "He calls himself Loki Laufeyson, but she's certain he's lying about his surname."

"What? Why would she tell you and not…" Zuko trails off, realizing that is probably a stupid question considering his and his sister's history.

"She needed you to distract him so that she could tell me who he was," Mai explains. "She thinks that you and Loki are similar, as far as your pasts go, so she was hoping that putting you in front of him would distract him long enough for her to talk to me without risk of him finding out what our conversation was about."

"Well, what was it about?"

"Loki isn't from here. He's from another world, and Azula is positive that he's trying to use her and her connections to accomplish something massive."

"He's from another…wait, he's trying to _use_ her? He does realize that she took over a country in less than a month without an army, right? And came up with the plan that protected the entire Fire Nation during the Day of Black Sun?"

"He may be able to outsmart her."

"You're serious."

Mai just looks at him.

"What does he want?" Zuko questions.

"That's what she's trying to figure out."

"Why'd she tell you?"

"The Republic needs to be prepared in case he tries to get to her through it. I needed to know of the possibility of an attack."

"Threaten her by threatening The Republic." Zuko crosses his arms, frowning, "That isn't gonna work. She won't cave to that. Azula doesn't cave. Ever."

"Something big is going on and she doesn't know what. Until she knows what it is, and all of its alternatives, she may have to cave."

"Aang needs to know about this."

"Obviously."

Zuko is not looking forward to that meeting.

"She dropped this off for you," Mai adds, dropping a USB stick in front of him.

Zuko frowns at it then grabs his tablet from the counter and plugs the USB stick in. He pulls up the files and raises an eyebrow, "It's a complete explanation of every governance position in the Fire Nation," he taps the screen, "with files on those currently occupying those positions and bios of everyone who ever occupied those positions...going back three centuries."

Mai leans over his shoulder and watches as he scrolls past the information on Fire Lord Sozin to pull up the information on Fire Lord Azula:

_Princess Regent Azula Tonatiuh was crowned Fire Lord on Yajnashan 22, 100 ASC after defeating Prince Zuko Tonatiuh in an Agni Kai during Sozin's Comet. Her first act as Fire Lord was to get medical attention for the prince and his companion, Katara Qilaq of the Southern Water Tribe. Her second act was to gather the Yu Yan Strikeforce and rescue her father __Phoenix King Ozai Tonatiuh__…_

Zuko taps the link for Phoenix King Ozai Tonatiuh and his eyebrows shoot up to his hairline at the first sentence:

_Fire Lord Ozai Tonatiuh created the title of Phoenix King, Supreme Ruler of the World, presumably as a method of beating his late father, Fire Lord Azulon, who killed his wife – Ozai's mother – in front of Ozai when he was a child and proceeded to claim that Ozai would never amount to anything, as a second-born._

"Is that true?" Mai questions.

"We never really talked about my Grandmother," Zuko admits. "But I wouldn't be surprised. I'm more surprised that's even in here, and is so…snarky. Wouldn't it make more sense for her to make our Dad seem infallible?"

"I don't think she likes your Dad," Mai says, scrolling down the page of Ozai's bio. "Look at this."

_A week after Ozai was crowned Fire Lord, he ordered the leaders of all those groups who opposed his rule to report to the palace. He called his 8-year-old daughter down to the bunkers to witness the superiority of the Fire Lord where he had lined up the leaders before him. He then marked each leader in the traditional Fire Nation way – burning a piece of visible flesh with his handprint. He stopped at the final leader then ordered his daughter to stand beside him and told the leader – Lien Ming – that she should feel honoured because she was going to be the first person to be marked by Princess Azula of the Fire Nation. Ming left the bunkers with the hand of the 8-year-old princess burned onto her upper back._

Zuko blinks, "I…I didn't know about that."

"I doubt you were supposed to."

"But it's in here," Zuko says, well aware that Azula wouldn't allow anything to come across his eyes without her knowing exactly what he would see. "Why is it in here?"

"Simple," remarks Mai, rising, "she wants you to know now."

Zuko stares at the tablet, his frown growing darker.

"Are you sure it's true?" Mai questions.

"If it was me, he would have just marked me, again," Zuko says, touching the faux flesh. "But he hated me. He doesn't hate her. For her, to show her that the Fire Nation is better than everyone else, and that the monarchs are better than everyone else, stronger, he would have done this."

"You're positive?"

"Yeah. I know she wasn't born...crazy."

"You were a toddler when she born."

Zuko rubs his temples meditatively, "I was four, almost five, and she was two when we were the targets of a kidnapping. She had screamed for me, she could only say 'Zuzu' then so it was 'Zuzu, Zuzu, Zuzu, get them away, make them stop'. I…I had tried to do that. Tried to get us away, tried to protect her from them. I wasn't a firebender yet then so I was just kicking and punching. They managed to get Azula in a bag, and then me, and I heard her crying…"

Mai's gaze is unwavering as Zuko clenches his eyes shut, returning to that memory.

"That was the first time I realized I hated hearing her cry. I was terrified and angry…I couldn't protect my baby sister and I was certain that the big brother's job was to protect his baby sister; at least, that was what Lu Ten said. Then there was heat and I heard the men screaming. I smelled burning flesh and clothes and I managed to get out of the bag. Then I saw Azula just…standing there, flames exploding from her hands. She was still crying and shouting at them to leave us alone. I froze. Then the fire stopped and I realized that the kidnappers all had severely burned legs. Half of one guy's face was burned off. Azula just stared at them. She was horrified. Then she vomited and burst into tears again, grabbed me by the hand and pulled me out of the area. She saved me. Us."

Mai remains silent, watching as Zuko drags his hands through his hair and leans back in the chair.

"She was scared then, Mai. She was horrified by what she had done to those men, even though they had kidnapped us. If she was born…if she was born crazy I don't think she would have been horrified by that."

"Azula never mentioned that."

"She probably doesn't remember much of it, besides firebending for the first time. She was only two. I think I only really remember it as clearly as I do because I remember having nightmares for weeks after that...Azula only had them for one week, come to think of it."

Mai doesn't verbalize her question.

"We had shared a bedroom then because I said I wouldn't let her sleep alone just in case the bad men came again. I think Mom thought it was cute, our Dad…I don't know what he thought. He probably thought I was weak. I remember her screaming again, which wasn't unusual, we had both been waking up screaming for a week, but I woke up and her bed was completely engulfed in flames. Mom came bursting in and grabbed me immediately while Dad bent the flames in Azula's bed and grabbed her. I don't know what he said to her, but after that night, even though we shared a room for another week, she didn't have anymore nightmares."

"You have no idea what he said to her."

"I don't think I want to know."

* * *

**A/N: **We're gonna be spending a lot of time on Mahābhūta, with these non-Marvel characters. Also, I think I'm gonna shorten these chapters; try to keep them between 10-15 pages on Word to save my sanity.

FYI, I am going to be messing not only with A:tLA/LOK canon but everything you may or may not hold dear in Marvel canon (keep in mind I'm working off the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) so comics-canon is pretty much irrelevant at this point).

Lt. Ming – She's a canon character! She snuck in some tea for Iroh when he was imprisoned. My headcanon states that she knew if she was discovered she'd wind up either fired or sent to Azula to be dealt with.

Enlil – November (a Sumerian god of air)

WET – Western Earth Time (I know, I'm creative.)

Lu Ten – if you don't know who this is…Iroh will be having words with you

_**IMPORTANT: **__For progress updates on this story, and others, check out my profile._

**Thanks for the reviews!  
**


	4. Chapter 3

**Rating: M**

_Avatar: The Last Airbender, and The Avengers do not belong to me. I am merely mixing together the sandboxes._

**Warnings: AU, violence, mentions of domestic abuse, child abuse and self-mutilation**

**Synopsis: When your own flames burn you but you're too stubborn to fall, your only option is to walk through the flames. Or, in which Azula meets another second-born and throws her planet into the world of intergalactic war. Azula-centric. **

* * *

_**Chapter Warning(s): non-graphic torture of an older woman, very brief mention of child abuse, tense family relationships (father-daughter, sibling), discussion of patrilineal society inheritance laws**_

* * *

**Second-Born**

"_My father was often angry when I was most like him."_

Lillian Hellman

**Chapter 3**

* * *

_**Lake Laogai Prison, Ba Sing Se, Earth Kingdom, Mah**__**āb**__**h**__**ū**__**ta**_

_**Pyrphorosa 13, 101 ASC – 18:12 BSST**_

_Scars run across his raw, calloused feet, echoing the scars on his hands and arms. He's wearing the clothes of beggars, all tattered, torn, earth-tone clothing with dirt and dust making him seem to be a relic of times past. His brown hair is pulled back into a long braid that reaches the middle of his back and is tied simply with a scrap of leather. His long fingers are covered in scars and sinewy muscles peek out from beneath his beggar skin. Only his spectacles remain flawless, permitting his green gaze to slice straight through the metal door separating him from the rest of his kingdom. Once, he had a staff against his back and a knife at his waist but both are gone, leaving him in his scraps._

_With a screech, the metal door swings open and the eerie green light that fills the corridor sneaks past the petite frame of the girl and illuminates the barely-lit room. The once-king looks up and his throat tightens instinctively at the sight of the girl who once held a single blue flame to his throat before pushing him to his hands and knees at her feet._

_He fights his instincts and barely manages to switch his frightened expression to one of unrelenting steel as her amber eyes pierce the darkness and focus on his._

_The door slides shut behind her, leaving them in the barely-lit room. Flames the same shade as the sea cover her palm and flicker, casting blue shadows across her face, obscuring her youth and making her yellow eyes seem to be green. His throat tightens but he stares at her, having learned that for people like her it is those who break eye contact that are deemed lesser and weak._

_His kingdom is not weak, so he will not be weak. Not anymore._

"_You've grown a backbone," she notes and promptly sits across from him, her legs crossed and her lit hand resting on her right knee._

"_What do you want from me?" he demands, tensing and straightening up in an effort to use his superior height to his advantage. "You already took my kingdom, what else could you possibly take from me?"_

_Her brows lower at the insinuation that it wasn't her right to take it, "I have the Divine Right to Rule, Kuei."_

_He frowns, "Not the Earth Kingdom."_

"_Excuse me?"_

"_You don't have the Divine Right to Rule over the Earth Kingdom. You don't even have the Divine Right to Rule over the Fire Nation."_

_She chuckles supremely, "Really? And what makes you say that?"_

"_In the Earth Kingdom, kingship passes from father to eldest – or only – son, then to his eldest or only son, and so on and so forth. My father was the eldest son of my grandfather. I was an only child, and therefore the only son. By birthright, the title of Earth King passed to me. In the Fire Nation," Kuei pauses, watching the Fire Lord's face, "in your nation, the title of Fire Lord passes from eldest son to eldest son, save for a few centuries ago when that debacle with Fire Lord Suziko took place wherein she was stripped of her title and her rights to the title of Princess, let alone Fire Lord. I know, I checked."_

_Fire Lord Azula's eyes narrow._

_Kuei continues, "Fire Lord Azulon was the eldest son. His eldest son was Iroh, whose eldest – and only – son was Lu Ten. Your father, according to the Rules of Succession, should never have become Fire Lord. Prince Iroh, however, gave up his right to become Fire Lord after the death of his son, and handed that title to your father, Ozai. Ozai's eldest – and only – son is Prince Zuko. By your nation's Rules of Succession, Zuko should be Fire Lord. Yet, you sit here and call yourself Fire Lord."_

"_Phoenix King Ozai made an amendment to the Rules of Succession. He removed the sex barrier, making it eldest child to eldest child. Your information is old."_

"_You still are not the eldest child though."_

"_Prince Zuko was banished."_

"_He never gave up his rights to become Fire Lord, nor were they stripped from him. By your rules, he should be Fire Lord."_

"_He is also dead."_

"_As you know, that doesn't matter. Phoenix King Ozai is still alive and can still become Fire Lord. He will always be named Fire Lord before you, even though your brother has passed. Did Ozai ever give up his rights to become Fire Lord, even when he named himself Phoenix King? Did he sign on the dotted line?"_

_Azula's jaw grows tense. Her father only said he was Phoenix King, and that she was Fire Lord. There was no paper exchange. She had foolishly assumed…it was such a unique situation. Usually when the former Fire Lord gave up his – and it was virtually always _his_ – title he was moving down the proverbial ladder. Her father, on the other hand, had been moving up, way up. _

"_Your reign is against the Rules of Succession. You should not be reigning over the Fire Nation, let alone the Earth Kingdom," Kuei hisses, leaning forward. "You have less of a Divine Right to Rule than I do."_

"_I am Queen of the Earth Kingdom, you pathetic-"_

"_Only the wife of the King has the right to be called Queen of the Earth Kingdom."_

"_Perhaps that rule needs to change."_

"_You don't have the legal power to do that."_

"_You do."_

"_As long as you remain a threat to my people I will not change that rule or any other rule, and killing me won't solve your problem."_

"_One thing you should know about me, Kuei, is that I never kill needlessly."_

_She rises, bringing the light with her, and turns to the door._

_Kuei frowns, "Why are you doing this?"_

_She pauses and glances back at him, "You're going to have to be a bit more specific."_

"_Why are you taking over the world?"_

_Her arrogance melts away and reveals an expression Kuei's seen millions of times on the portraits of his ancestors, the resolute, the strong, the unyielding Earth Kings and Queens of the past. Her gaze strips away his flesh and reaches his bones as she answers, "Because I want to."_

_A moment passes, and the sapphire flames flicker._

_Kuei's gaze is steady, although his green eyes flicker in the light. Softly, he remarks, "I think you're lying."_

_She throws her head back and laughs, high and loud. _

"_You're just proving everyone – your subjects – right, you know," Kuei interjects sharply, the softness vanishing behind a furious rock wall._

"_Well," Azula says cockily, her laughter dying away, "I suppose everyone, including my subjects, should expect by now that I'd be capable of taking over the world."_

"_They don't think that. They think you're a monster."_

_She twitches. Abruptly, her voice lowers. Like a jagged, dull knife, her voice cuts through the air, "Maybe they're right."_

"_My subjects think that I'm all-powerful, a spirit on the mortal plane, when in fact, I'm just like them," Kuei explains. "The subjects of a monarch are never right about their monarch. You and I both know that. And how could they be? They never have the information, the access, that we have."_

"_You have no subjects anymore, Kuei."_

"_I guess that's one other thing they're wrong about then."_

_Her glare could level cities. Thankfully, Kuei hails from the Earth Kingdom, where their specialty is creating cities from nothing but pebbles._

_With a spine-shattering scrape the metal door slides open. The blue light vanishes as her strides quicken in the corridor and the door shuts behind her, leaving the King of the Earth Kingdom in a cell barely-lit by green and trembling under the glare of a teenage girl._

_On Yajnashan 24, two days after the celebrations for Fire Lord Azula's coronation, a guard drops the guidebook to Ba Sing Se University in Kuei's cell. Ten days later, on Jati 3, Ba Sing Se University's Head Professor of Political Studies receives a new assistant, an awkward young man in spectacles with black hair and brown eyes who has a startling amount of knowledge of the duties of the Earth King. On Jati 29 a thick sheet of paper arrives in the mail for the new Political Studies Assistant._

_::  
_

_This is to certify that _Azula Tonatiuh_ of _the Fire Nation_ and _Kuei Tu Di Gong _of _the Earth Kingdom _were bound together in divine matrimony on the _twenty-eighth (28) _of_ Jati _in the Ri Wu Era in the year of One Hundred and _One (1)_. In the presence of _Phoenix King Ozai Tonatiuh _and_ Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator Pearl Nüwa of Ba Sing Se_, in _The Hall of Fenghuang, The Palace of the Phoenix King, Businiao City, Eastern Air Province_._

* * *

**Piandao's Estate, Shu Jing, Fire Nation, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Gana 1, 103 ASC – 19:17 CPT**

Piandao Itzli. He is a member of the Order of the White Lotus, the Master of the Jian blade, a former trainer of the Fire Nation's nonbenders and monarchs, and one of the most highly respected and feared men on the planet. His legendary feats are well-known to not be legend, but actual fact.

When he deserted the Fire Nation's army he was labeled an enemy of the nation. He traveled the world, pursuing his passion for the arts, before returning to the Fire Nation and settling above the town of Shu Jing. One-hundred of the Fire Lord's greatest firebenders were sent to his home to either kill Piandao the traitor or bring him in. Armed with the advantage of knowing his large estate like the back of his hand, his wits, and one of his Jian blades, he defeated the hundred firebenders.

No one dared to try and trespass onto his property, much less attack him, again. As a traitor he remained on the property his family had owned for generations with his young daughter and two older sons, the spirit of his late Earth wife in his memory, and his last loyal servant for company.

Soon, his sons left, men now, pursuing their own lives. Then his daughter left, too early, still just a girl, leaving the swordsmaster and his servant alone, with only rare visits from allies as company.

The servant and former student, Fat, opens one of the large double doors keeping the property restricted from the rest of the country. He shoots a glare at the woman wearing the dark half-mask across her nose and mouth while her ebony hair falls across her right eye like a curtain, and the rest of her head is covered by a low hat.

"I see you're as charming as ever, Fat," she comments wryly.

Fat's eyebrows shoot up. Grudgingly, he steps out of her way and lets her enter the property. She pulls down her mask and shrugs off her cloak and hat, revealing lips painted deep plum-red, black clothing that bares her snake-tattooed shoulder, and a collection of belts around her torso. A whip hangs from her lowest belt and part of her hair is pulled back into a topknot secured by a silver skull ornament. She strides up the stairs, her shadowed grey eyes flicking across the familiar structure of red, gold, black, and brown.

Piandao stiffens slightly, raising the cup of tea to his lips as he senses the young woman approaching him from behind. She sits in front of him, her heeled and belted boots leaving behind dirty footprints. He swallows and lowers the cup, staring at her. The corners of his mouth turn up as he remarks, "I thought you weren't ever coming back. Last I heard, you were in the Earth Kingdom hunting down anyone for money."

"I can leave, if you'd prefer," she points out, moving to rise.

He shoots her a look that promises extra sword practice because she broke another rule while deeming it "contractually unsound."

"You didn't come here just to say 'hi' to your dear old dad," he says, setting his cup down then pouring another for her.

Her cocky expression falls. She sighs, swallows her pride, and says, "I need your help."

His eyes flick to her in surprise. She never asked for help. Ever. He frowns, scanning her posture again. He had thought that something was off.

Piandao sets down the kettle and questions, concern creasing his voice, "What's wrong?"

She looks at the ceiling, swallowing. When she looks back at her father she's glaring, "Those bastards took Nyla. They took my baby."

"I'm sorry Akiho."

"June," she snaps. "My name is June, Dad. It's been June for years. Remember? I stamped my identity on the paper and it was June."

He nods, resigned, "Very well, June. I realize this is difficult for you, but you have been a criminal. Your…activities are not ones any government would encourage when you are not actively working for them."

"I guess being a criminal runs in the family," she retorts. "Seeing as you're a traitor still living in the country you betrayed."

"It is different."

"No, it's not. You fought for what you believed in and that made you happy. I am fighting for what I believe in and that makes me happy and now, those jackasses that took you, ripped you apart, and tried to turn you into one of them, have taken half of what makes me happy and you're going to try and rip apart my choices, _again?_" She scowls, "You do that every single time I'm here."

"I just want you to be safe and happy, June."

"I am as safe as I can be on this planet. I can fight. I can get into anyplace anywhere. I just broke out of the Prison Tower. I am _safe_ but I am far from happy." She stands sharply, "Stop trying to make me switch career paths and become just like you or Mom. Just accept the fact that I am not changing for you or anyone else. I'll be in the armory if you decide to stop talking to me like I'm a child."

With that, she strides out of the room.

After a moment, Fat comments, "I remember when she used to be quiet."

The young girl who was so unsure, who hated it when people brought up her Dad's status as a traitor, but was still so stubbornly independent. The young girl who stared at her half-bitten nails, sunburned skin and pockmarks, and then looked at the images of her mother, whose nails were perfectly filed, whose skin was flawless and unbothered by the rays of the sun, and wondered what was wrong with her. The young girl who made the sarcastic comments only when it suited her and no other moment, despite the insistence of her older brothers to be more snarky. The young girl who devoured mysteries and tomes of information on places that were everything she didn't know. The young girl who hated the sword then came home one day and declared with defiant joy spread across her face that she wanted to learn the whip. The young girl who smirked at the others who mocked her half-bitten nails and pockmarked skin because she knew that she was smarter than them, that she, unlike them, could solve mysteries they couldn't even fathom. The young girl who hated it when her father started expressing his controversial opinions then, every once in awhile, would start expressing controversial opinions herself. The young girl who loved her older brothers and always took great delight when she beat them, even once, in a sword-versus-whip battle. The young girl who was taught, early on, to take advantage of every advantage she had – her size, her sex, her appearance, her agility, her brain, everything. The young girl who idolized her bounty hunter of an uncle.

Piandao knows that she was once quiet, but that was years ago. She's grown now. She's no longer that uncertain, scared little girl.

* * *

**Isle of Ilah, Fire Nation, Mah****āb****h****ūta**

**Gana 4, 103 ASC – 14:26 WST**

Loki has had a grand total of 8 conversations with Phoenix King Ozai. One revolved around what was to happen to him, being an Extra-Terrestrial Intruder. Three revolved around the traditional foods of the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom. One revolved around Ozai's continued training with Ty Lee. One revolved around the actual rule of his realm – Ozai seemed to be rather uninformed with the state of his world, but was growing more informed, surprisingly, as time went on. The last two revolved around his opinion of his children. Apparently, his eldest, Zuko, was a weak traitor, someone lucky to be born, and his youngest, Azula, was one of the strongest leaders of the Fire Nation and born lucky.

It was far from difficult to discern that Ozai was, while capable of operating multiple plans at once, currently of a single mind. He was fully focused on finding a cure to the affliction that plagued him. The only reason Loki even discovered what it was – the loss of his ability to manipulate fire – was thanks to the rather more open mind of Ozai's Royal Physician.

At the moment, Loki has no desire whatsoever to interact with the so-called Phoenix King. Certainly, he will keep the conversations between them open, as a precaution, but Ozai does not appear to hold the power here. His teenage daughter does.

Loki knows that the teenager with the titles of Fire Lord and Earth Queen is intelligent. He knows that she is capable of operating multiple plans at once. He knows that she can intimidate people. He knows that she can fight – it took some effort but he did finally manage to witness a spar between Azula and Ty Lee which, frankly, put the Warriors of Asgard to shame, none of them were capable of bringing an enemy down with a mere touch without magic. He knows that she knows far more about this realm than anyone else. He knows that she has the command of the largest and most technologically advanced armies of the realm.

Mahābhūta had caught the attention of a few of the more advanced realms by virtue of it managing to become one of the few realms with a sole ruler, in addition to the massive energy that poured off the realm during Sozin's Comet. He, and his…employer, had made the assumption that the ruler of the realm of Mahābhūta would need to either be killed or put on their side. The people in Mahābhūta were capable of manipulating energy, which was such a talent that could become either extremely detrimental to their cause or extremely helpful.

Loki Odinson has two options:

He can kill Azula and her father, thereby removing most of the threat the realm poses.

Or, he can get Azula and her father on his side.

Considering the existence of someone called the Avatar, who can apparently manipulate more energy than anyone else in the realm, Loki prefers the second option. After all, if he kills the two firebenders and that results in the Avatar recognizing the threat he poses, that could lead to the Avatar taking advantage of the energy of the Tesseract and utterly obliterating him as well as his…employer. Even though the Avatar does not appear to be on the same side as Azula and her father, Loki knows that an outside threat could conceivably band them together. He would prefer it if he is not the outside threat.

If he was honest, he would say that Azula frightens him. She's so similar to Thor. She's the perfect child in the eyes of her father, the greatest warrior, but then she has the intelligence he was so proud of possessing himself. Yet, despite being the perfect child, the favoured one, she still had everything staked against her success, much as he had living as a second-born more taken with pursuits of the mind in a society that valued physical over intellectual prowess.

She was born female and second-born in a society that dictated inheritance through the first-born sons, and if not the first-born then the second-born son. She was never supposed to be a leader beyond Princess; she was just supposed to be the royal wife of a lesser but still high-ranking man, or perhaps a Princess General. She was never supposed to become Fire Lord. She was never supposed to become the ruler of the Earth Kingdom either. That honour was supposed to go to the first-born son of the previous Earth King, not to the second-born daughter of the Fire Lord. And she was certainly never supposed to laugh in the face of history that dictated the Earth Kingdom could never be conquered. She was never supposed to take over the largest nation in the realm in less than a month, without an army, and at the mere age of 14. She was never supposed to do in a matter of weeks what her legendary uncle failed to do in 600 days, what everyone before her failed to do in all of history.

According to her realm, she was never supposed to become Fire Lord, Earth Queen, and the first person in history to conquer the entire Earth Kingdom. Favoured child or not, she was never supposed to rise past the title and achievements of Princess. The fact that she did rise past the title and achievements of Princess and became the functional ruler of her realm at the age of 14, is, Loki will admit, impressive and, in a stretch, intimidating. (He refuses to be intimidated by a 17-year-old girl. That would be ridiculous.)

She really is like Thor. All-encompassing, powerful, and by nearly all definitions of the word, great. However, like himself, according to her society she was never – no matter how much her father says it – supposed to be born lucky or great. She was born a second-born daughter of a second-born son. That isn't the birth of greatness. Not in Asgard, not in Mahābhūta, likely not on Midgard or Jötenheimr either.

He refuses to show any hint of intimidation (she is nothing but a _child_), but does manage to get Azula to bring him most places she goes. He now has a room in her palace in the Fire Nation, as well as one in the Earth Kingdom. Now, he has gained the opportunity to accompany her, and her father, to the Isle of Ilah where apparently the traitors of the Fire Nation are kept.

He can almost smell the freedom and victory to come.

He stands in Azula's quarters on the Isle, dressed in clothing given to him, he presumes, on her orders. The mortal attire is unimpressive by his standards and is all reds, blacks and golds, but will make him appear to be of a high rank to the peasants on the Isle so it will do its job. He has little doubts that at the moment Azula is getting into attire that will identify her as the ruler of these traitors, but not, not ever, the functional ruler of the realm.

She is behind a screen with her maidservants at the moment, getting into her robes and simultaneously explaining what he is to do.

"You may identify yourself if someone directly asks you," she says, "but always divert questions regarding my father, the position of Phoenix King, or my leadership either to another topic or to me to answer. You may leave your first name as Loki but your surname henceforth is Sung."

"You must be jesting."

She strides out from behind the screen, garbed in greens, golds and browns, and shoots him a glare, "Your surname is hardly fitting for the Fire Nation. No one here has a surname such as yours, therefore, you are Sung. If you do not comply I will lock you in my father's study with him for a month."

"Oooh, frightening," he chuckles with a smirk.

"I suggest you not push me," she says as one of her maidservants secures her crown. The Fire Lord portion of it is secured to her topknot while the Earth Queen portion is a green ribbon and gold chain draped around her head which come to a point at the centre of her forehead where the circle-and-square symbol of the Earth Kingdom hangs like a gem droplet. Azula straightens up and looks critically at her reflection in the mirror before swiftly applying her usual scarlet shade of lipstick. She turns expectantly to the next maidservant and permits the woman to apply the kohl across her lashes and around her eyes. Azula quickly slides on her various rings and knuckle-coverings of delicately carved gold, then turns sharply to Loki and raises her eyebrows, "Do you understand your position?"

"Nondescript, but intimidating," Loki summarizes.

She stares at him for a moment, attempting to read him, then strides past him and swoops through the doors, all-encompassing.

Her father, garbed in his less-intensive Phoenix King regalia, joins them at the edge of her quarters. His eyebrow rises at Loki's Fire Nation attire and a smirk plays at his lips. Wordlessly, Azula and Ozai walk ahead of Loki, and their quick conversation takes place in a collection of eyebrow movements and small hand gestures. Ozai moves slightly ahead of Azula as they reach the edge of the compound and Azula reflexively moves to advance. She barely manages to stop herself from overtaking her father and remain slightly behind him as they walk through the large, metal compound doors. _Intriguing._

They pass a series of security checks. Checks which Ozai attempts to pass through with minimal checking under the statement that he is Phoenix King, Supreme Ruler of the World. Azula fully complies to the security checks and shoots her father a glare that he frowns under before submitting to the checks fully. Ozai's eyes narrow the instant Azula enters a separate room to be searched and Loki doesn't miss the flash of suspicion that crosses through the man's yellow eyes.

Since he started living with the Phoenix King, Loki's noticed a surge in Ozai's productivity. Ozai's hair isn't as greasy, the dark circles under his eyes are fading, and he doesn't seem nearly as tired. It was inevitable that with the improvement in Ozai's health he would become more aware of his daughter's actions. The man did rule the most heavily industrialized, technologically-advanced country in the realm for years before becoming Phoenix King after all. Skills in observation and deception had to have developed from that, and he would have been trained from birth not only to possess a healthy paranoia, but to pick out the lies and omissions of his subordinates. Loki wonders how long Azula thought she could act as she did without raising the attention of her father.

She is orchestrating a symphony unknown to her father right beneath his nose. Loki wants to know how the deception of Azula will impact Ozai. After all, Loki does not particularly want to have both Ozai and Azula on his side, not with the pair of them being as skilled and oppositional as they are. That would only add an extra person who could possibly betray him. It'll be easier to control one person. Whoever emerges victorious from this father-daughter battle will become his…ally, and the other will be removed from the equation entirely.

Once they pass the security checks they head to the north-east corner of the compound. The woman sitting in the cell is called Lien Ming. Her thin hair is a mass of grey that hangs limply around her shoulders. Lines crease her dusky complexion and her uniform is the only part of her that could, conceivably, look good to someone. It is tailored to her body and besides some dirt, is immaculate.

"Do it," Ozai orders, pausing outside Lien's cell.

Without hesitation, Azula enters the cell. She swings the door shut behind her then slides the barred viewing window in the top of the door closed, cutting off the access Ozai, Loki, and the guards have to the event.

Through the metal, they hear Azula's voice, "Lien."

Lien's voice is steady, "You'll beat an old woman?"

Azula's response is deceptively chilling, "I'll beat a child, traitor."

A woman screams and hot blue light sneaks out from beneath the door. There's a thud, followed quickly by a strangled shout that ends almost immediately.

Twenty minutes later, when Ozai and Loki have left her, with Ozai receiving reports from the compound warden and Loki getting a tour, Azula steps out of the cell. Lien Ming is lying on the floor of her cell, her face against the warm metal, the small handprint burn on her back glaring against her flesh. Her hair is destroyed, chunks having been pulled or sliced off, piles scattered around the cell, a couple piles burned. Her right little finger is broken, as is her left little finger and index finger. She pushes the pain away easily enough, ignoring the bruises on her belly, pushing away the reflexive hatred because she knows that it could have been worse. It could have been much worse.

Lien doesn't think she'll ever get used to the feeling of the teenage girl's hot fingers wrapping around her throat.

She knows that something is off. She knows that it should be much worse. She knows that Azula only does what she does to get the loudest noises out of here, to make her screams be heard beyond her cell. There were better, more efficient methods of torture than the ones Azula used on her. For the moment, Lien ignores that thought. She just lies on the floor of her cell, silently running through what Azula demanded she tell her.

Not the identities of those in the Order of the White Lotus. Not where she got her information for her various critiques of the Fire Nation's contemporary policies. No, the Fire Lord wanted information on where she got her information on the history of firebending, on the origins of the Fire Nation itself, the Sun Warriors and their legends and myths.

Interesting, but – Lien rolls over, wincing, the bruises on her throat pulling – not a thought to follow today. She has time later to think. She always has time to think.

Her eyes flick to the walls surrounding her, every inch mottled with ash from her firebending. Words. Codes. Notations. The obsessive ramblings of a furious old woman who wanted to see a real, a _genuine,_ Golden Age, just for a moment, just for a second, while she still drew breath.

She knows that Azula's already cracked the code. She did so when she was 15. Lien remembers that day. She had thought she was intelligent, creating the code she did, but the Fire Lord had not one but two teams of code-breakers at her disposal, along with her own unique perspective and startling brilliance to work from. In retrospect, Lien figures that it was inevitable that Azula cracked her code eventually. However, judging from the few meetings she received with the Phoenix King, the Fire Lord has not informed him of her success. Lien would not be surprised. The man did order his daughter to mark someone when she was 8-years-old, and if Azula enjoyed causing pain, enjoyed killing people, then Lien would have died years ago.

Lien would be a fool to not realize that the Fire Lord and Earth Queen has something up her sleeve. She just hopes – she sits up, wincing, and stares at the section of wall that details the fall of the Earth Kingdom from the information she gained while imprisoned – that whatever that girl is plotting will not result in the entire world going down in flames. Lien has had enough of fire claiming to be superior. It never was and never will be superior.

And if it ever does become superior, in some way, shape, or form, Lien will resist as she does now, stubbornly refusing to die and never ceasing to stomp and scream until _it _dies.

Silently, Lien shuts her eyes and begins to meditate, sending a quick prayer to Agni to keep her daughters safe.

Loki pulls back from his observation of the emotions flickering through Lien – pain, confusion, anger, resignation – and flicks his eyes to Ozai, who chose to sit beside him and be illuminated by the faint light given off by his scepter. There are other places for the man to sit, but he seems unaware of them. Odd.

Azula pauses upon entering the room, noting the odd position of her father and Loki immediately. She doesn't bother to question it and instead nods to her father. He rises immediately and follows her out of the room. Loki leans back against the wall – not for the first time annoyed by his treatment as lesser than the monarchs, he was a king, a king as powerful, if not _more_ powerful, than either of them – and closes his eyes. Silently, he stretches his senses, searching for the conversation between father and daughter.

The conversation is easy to find. Azula is speaking, "I've gotten the Order names. The arrests will be able to continue."

Loki can sense Ozai frowning, "And the hunter?"

"She doesn't know where she is, and the interviews revealed little."

Not a lie, but not the entire truth regardless.

The interviews – of what, exactly, he is not certain – revealed something. Something she could classify as 'little' but she knew her father would not classify as 'little.'

Loki is not surprised that she lies to her father. Children lie to their parents all the time. It is what she is lying about that intrigues him. He should figure out what the interviews were for, and, perhaps, find the hunter who is, undoubtedly, the infamous June. He may need that information to properly observe the battle between father and daughter, and find a side to take. That is, if taking sides becomes a necessity.

* * *

**Irrelevant**

**Incomprehensible**

Yue, once a Princess of the Northern Water Tribe, watched.

Yue, now a Moon Spirit, watches.

Below her, La, the Ocean, surges. Svahango flits about, quick and neverending, her surging energy crackling through the air. Agni is opposite her, burning bright, as he always has.

Memories of Everything pass in front of her eyes. Pass through her mind. Pass within her. Neverending.

Everything recalls the moments when the elements were not separate, but balanced. The moments when there were no elements. The moments when there was naught but Energy and Everything.

Balance.

Energy surging through bodies and twisting out. Around. Energy coming from Everything and permitting itself to be manipulated.

But specialization. Focus of training. Restricted movements. Specialization for the preferred Energy. The preferred locale.

WaterEarthAirFire.

FloodQuakeHurricaneInferno.

BloodMetalSoundLightning.

Energy was restricted. Everything retaliated.

Water. Earth. Air. Fire.

Flood. Quake. Hurricane. Inferno.

Blood. Metal. Sound. Lightning.

Elements.

Once upon a time, there was Balance.

Once upon a time, there was One and Everything.

Then, there was Many. There was Something 1 and Something 2 and Something 3 and More.

Water.

Earth.

Air.

Fire.

Flood.

Quake.

Hurricane.

Inferno.

Blood.

Metal.

Sound.

Lightning.

One got Everything. Many got Something. Not right. Notright. Notrightnotrightnotright.

Balance never returned; for it could not, not without Everything. Not One with Everything, but Everything Everywhere. Everything Everywhere.

Energy Everything Everywhere.

EnergyEverythingEverywhere.

energyeverythingeverywhere

Balance has never meant separation.

* * *

**A/N: **I hope you remember who Lien is. If not, read the previous chapter.

As for Kuei…yeah, he got badass during his adventure after the fall of the Earth Kingdom. That was inevitable. Adventures _change people_. Sorry if the italics irritate you. I needed to show that scene and did not particularly want people to ignore the fact that it happened in the past. So, italics, to grab your attention.

Pyrphorosa - June (comes from Hekate's name 'Pyrphoros', which means 'fire-bearer')

BSST - Ba Sing Se Time

Itzli – Aztec god of sacrifice and stone knives

WST – Western Standard Time

Gana - December (means 'falling snow')

Tu Di Gong – Chinese earth god worshipped by Chinese folk religion worshippers/Shenism and Taoists

Nüwa – Chinese goddess known for creating and repairing the wall of heaven; considered to be the first Chinese ruler

**Thanks for the review Beloved Daughter! The plans, motivations, and characters shall be revealed in due time, m'dear, in due time.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Rating: M**

_Avatar: The Last Airbender, and The Avengers, and Legend of Korra, do not belong to me. I am merely mixing together the sandboxes._

**Warnings: AU, crossover; **_**[see Chapter Warnings]**_

**Synopsis: When your own flames burn you but you're too stubborn to fall, your only option is to walk through the flames. Or, in which Azula meets another second-born and throws her planet into the world of intergalactic war. Azula-centric. **

* * *

_**Chapter Warning(s): violence, coarse language, mention of child & spousal abuse, murder, death, and imprisonment, allusion to the Inuit disc numbers and surname issue**_

* * *

**Second-Born**

"_History is a vast early warning system."_

Norman Cousins

**Chapter 4**

* * *

**The Republic, Earth Kingdom, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Ablutu 1, 104 ASC – 08:27 WET**

Swathed in citrine robes the 115-year-old Avatar watches as Katara the Mighty of the Southern Water Tribe paces, muttering furiously words of justified distrust directed at the current Fire Lord and Earth Queen while behind her stands the Fire Lord and Earth Queen's older brother, fiddling with a tea kettle, determined to finally make a pot of tea at least one league below his Uncle's best

Aang taps his glider anxiously, like Katara, concerned about the proposition that was closer to an order Azula brought forth to Zuko. Aang wants to go with Zuko, but not because of Azula. Aang is positive that Azula isn't focused on killing Zuko. No, Aang's more concerned about how Ran, Shaw, and the Chief will react when they find out that Zuko told Azula about the last living dragons.

Katara hates Azula. Aang doesn't blame her in the slightest. It took him ages after being released from that, admittedly, comfortable prison Azula threw him in before he was able to look at Katara's burned arm without wincing or cringing. She managed to heal most of it herself after the prison physicians looked after it, their specialty being burns, but that didn't take away the scarring. Katara has plenty of reason to hate Azula. She's deceitful, manipulative, ruthless, and her people were responsible for not only attacking the Southern Water Tribe – the home of Katara and her people – and slaughtering or imprisoning most of them, but also forcing their concept of surnames onto the Southern Water Tribe, whose people had no need for surnames until the Fire Nation demanded them. Then, Azula not only burned Katara herself but managed to kill him, the Avatar part of him at least, twice.

He got better the first time. The second time is proving to be more difficult.

Aang doesn't hate Azula. He doesn't fully trust her and doesn't particularly like her, but he doesn't hate her. He can't. Not with what he knows.

Zuko knows that he shouldn't be telling anyone the information he gets from Azula, but he tells Aang, Katara, Haru, and Mai. Katara thinks that Azula is just lying again, trying to make them pity her while she continues to keep them away from Sokka, Toph, Hakoda, Suki, and everyone else. Their surface-side friends could be dead for all they know. Azula doesn't tell them anything about their surface-side friends, barring Ty Lee, but she's really only close to Zuko and Mai. Katara brings up a good point. No one would put it past Azula to manipulate them like that. Only Zuko and Mai seem to have doubts regarding that, but Mai's doubts are practically invisible, and Zuko's are overshadowed by...something. His memories, maybe. His fear of having another member of his family be focused on destroying him in the most morbidly artistically way possible. Or, perhaps it's the fact that every time he sees a recent image of his sister or she visits she gradually looks more and more like their mother, which he doesn't like so he tries to trick his mind into perceiving her as how she looked when she was a child, but that just brings up the memories of her when she was a toddler and not nearly so violent and manipulative. Then the thoughts come of 'what could have been if'. Katara calls it the Big Brother Syndrome, because even though Azula is probably one of the worst little sisters in the world, Zuko isn't the world's worst brother and he's already lost his mother to death, his uncle to war, and never actually had his father. Both Katara and Aang doubt that Zuko wants to watch his sister be added to that list. That's the only reason Katara bothers restraining herself to only questioning Azula's methods, not her motivations, when in front of Zuko.

Last time she questioned Azula's motivations in front of Zuko he withdrew into himself for two days after shouting at Katara that if she was going to insult his sister she may as well insult him too, because if he hadn't been an idiot and left his little sister alone with their abusive father as her chief role model then they probably wouldn't even be in this mess, underground, in hiding, waiting for Azula's word to strike.

Aang doesn't hate Azula. He knows that Ozai is too far gone to fix without destroying the man himself, but Azula is young, she's only 17. If the stories Zuko's told him about his childhood with Azula are dominantly true then Azula wasn't born with a love of violence, pain, fear, and hatred. She was, as Zuko tended to argue with a dash of self-loathing and regret for flavour, bred that way.

Haru, in his words, thinks she has "issues." He never specifies what kinds of issues they are, so he manages to – in a remarkable way that Toph would probably appreciate – remain neutral on the entire subject. Remain objective, so, when issues arise that Azula brings to their table through Mai, he doesn't pay attention to Azula's motivations or methods. He works with the facts and only the facts.

Sometimes, when Aang sees Haru curl his toes into the dirt and press his bare hands on one of the rock walls, trying to use Toph's method to "see" to the top, Aang wishes that Haru's father, Tyro, could see his son. Even though there are older earthbenders here, older Earth Kingdom people here, Haru became the Earth Kingdom's representative for The Republic's Council and became one of the only members who managed to refuse to let his decisions be clouded by his past experiences and instead be firmly rooted in the present, attuned to the chaos around him so intimately that he found the patterns of public acceptance of policies, and strategies used by their enemies and allies easily. All of which made his decisions and votes more objective and logical than, in Aang's opinion, Katara's decisions or Zuko's decisions and probably moreso than his own. Tyro would be proud of him, Aang's certain.

However, Katara's decisions, as the representative of the Water Tribes, were valuable despite being influenced by her hatred of Azula. She often brought up issues and ideas that Zuko didn't want to consider and Haru didn't bother to consider, focused as he was on the facts and only the facts. She made sure that everyone knew the worst possible outcome, but still plowed ahead relentlessly with anything she felt would make a positive difference, regardless of Azula's influence.

Zuko's decisions, as the representative of the Fire Nation, were influenced by not only his family's history but also his sympathy and concern for Azula. He did the opposite of Katara. While he undoubtedly considered the worst possible outcome he also tried to think the best of his sister, and on the rare occasions that he and Katara agreed immediately on something, they were unstoppable.

Aang leans back in his chair, resting his glider against the table, watching as Zuko brews his tea – he's been brewing more and more tea and demanding that more and more people try it, Aang's concerned that he may have poisoned a few of the Air Acolytes – and Katara finally comes to a stop in her tirade and announces that she's going to go train. Aang really hopes she doesn't run into Master Hohana. Hohana is the chief waterbending healing instructor in The Republic and uses bloodbending when he can to help treat certain wounds and conditions. Heart attacks, for example, he finds that under the right hand can respond well to bloodbending. Katara, while appreciative of the fact that Hohana stresses to never use bloodbending against another person, to only use it for healing, is still concerned about the possibility that Hohana or one of his students would use it to control another person. Aang is concerned as well, but trusts Hohana himself to never use it against another creature and that if one of his students dared to do such a thing Hohana would deal with that person swiftly and efficiently, ensuring that that person never bloodbent again and probably didn't waterbend for a month at least.

Katara strides out of the room, less furious than before, while waving off his hope that she has a good time. She'll cool down in an hour or so, just in time for the Council Meeting. She has her method for dealing with her anger down pat.

The only sound in the room is that of Zuko pouring his experimental tea into a cup.

"Do you think I should go?" Zuko questions after a moment as he lifts the cup to his lips.

"I really don't-"

Zuko yelps, whirls around, and starts spitting into the sink while slamming the cup down on the counter. "That was _terrible_," he explains, turning back around and shooting the kettle a furious look.

"Right…" Aang raises an eyebrow. "Maybe you should get a book on tea-brewing, Zuko."

"My Uncle would kill me if I did that."

"Better than killing someone with your tea."

Zuko glares at him.

"Look, I don't know if you should go or not," Aang says, moving back to Zuko's question. "I don't think she wants to hurt you or kill you or anything, but I don't know Azula as well as you do so I could be wrong. The only thing I do know for sure is that the Chief probably won't be very happy if you returned with your sister behind you."

Zuko grimaces, recalling the Chief's threat, "Yeah, I know."

"What do you think you should do?"

"I don't even know why she wants to go."

"To learn firebending?"

"She's already one of the best firebenders in the world, next to my Uncle and, well, you when you're in the Avatar State."

"Which I can't get to right now so that really doesn't matter right now," Aang sighs, rubbing the back of his neck.

Zuko looks at the floor, "Katara mentioned that she might want to go there to try and figure out a way to give our father his bending back."

Aang winces, "That wouldn't be good. Why would she want – do you think the dragons can even do that?"

"They did give us the first fire," Zuko points out. "They probably could."

"But why would she want to give Ozai back his bending?"

"I don't know." Zuko dumps the tea down the sink, "I know I wouldn't want to give him his bending back. That'd just give him another chance to do this," he gestures to the scar stretching across his left eye, cheek, eyebrow, and ear, "to me."

"He never did that to Azula though, maybe she doesn't think that could happen to her."

"_I _don't think it could happen to her," says Zuko. "But she said that when she trained privately with him he would try to burn her so…"

"If that's true then the only outcome for giving Ozai back his bending would be her possibly getting burnt. Why would she want that?"

"I…" Zuko hesitates, "I tried to do everything I could to get my father's love. I showed him all my successes, I tried to be the best firebender, but I could never measure up, especially not when Azula was there doing everything perfectly, exactly how our father liked it."

"So…she's trying to gain the love of her father by giving him back his bending? But he never really loved her, did he?"

"He didn't love anyone. I don't think he was able to."

"She doesn't talk about him very favourably," Aang adds.

"No, I think she hates him."

"Then why would she give him back his bending?"

"She wouldn't. She'd try to kill him. But she hasn't yet."

"Why?"

"…" Zuko sighs, leaning heavily on the counter, "because even though she tries to hate him, she tries as hard as she can to hate him, she tries to remember every single bad thing he ever did that she loathed, she can't hate him because he's still her father, he's still the man who raised her, who taught her how to walk and talk and fight. She wouldn't be able to hate him, not even when he's done so much, because he's half the reason she even exists."

Aang lower his eyes, "Zuko."

Zuko drags his hands through his hair and stares at the counter blankly, his hands laced behind his head, "What?"

"It's not a bad thing to love your parents."

A hollow, sharp laugh escapes Zuko's mouth, "Even when one tried to burn the entire world to the ground and decided to burn off half of your face a few years after having your mother killed?"

"You love your Dad. You hate the things he's done, but I don't think that you'll ever forget any of the good things your father's done for you or with you. There must be _some._ I don't…the Air Nomads didn't segment their communities into family units. We were all one big family and it isn't the bad things that I remember most clearly, it's the good things."

"I was talking about Azula."

"Uh-huh. You guys are similar y'know." Aang pauses, frowning, "Wait."

"What?"

"Why would you go to Ran and Shaw for a second time?"

"To thank them for teaching me and then to…learn more I guess."

"Maybe that's all Azula wants. To learn more."

"She did spend a lot of time in the archives and library when we were kids."

Aang nods, "When I was imprisoned she had me record everything I could remember from my time with the Air Nomads. She had me write down our traditions, funerary practices, our sacred days, plants, animals, our community makeup…then every few weeks she'd come visit me and after I was paralyzed from the neck down she'd ask me questions about what I wrote, clarify things. The only time she didn't have me paralyzed from the neck down was when she asked about dances and got me to demonstrate."

"You…danced. For my sister. What?"

Aang shrugs, "I know, I know, it's weird, but I was _bored._"

Zuko shakes his head, "I'm not even going to bother…so she had you record everything about the Air Nomads."

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Aang shrugs, "I dunno, I thought she might have wanted something for her personal collection. Maybe it was a trophy of some sort for beating me twice."

"Azula doesn't collect trophies, says that if you need a trophy to recall your triumphs then your triumphs weren't very triumphant and didn't deserve to be called 'triumphs'. Apparently they're a security hazard as well. Our father disagreed with her on that."

"After about a year I thought that maybe, since she was getting me to expand my writings and record stuff about the other nations a hundred years ago, good and bad, that maybe she just really liked history and figured that since I was alive a hundred years ago I was a pretty good resource for more information."

"Azula always has an ulterior motive though."

"She asked me about the Avatar State, what happens when I contact my past lives and all that. Also, how I took away Ozai's bending."

"Did you tell her?"

"No. I refused every single time she'd try getting it out of me, even when she'd try to trick me."

"But you told her about the Avatar State?"

"After a while, yeah. I was _bored_. I was stuck in there for over two years and Azula and a few of her soldiers were the only contact I had with people! I had to talk to someone!"

"So what was her ulterior motive?"

"I have no idea. But if she was just gathering information then maybe that's what this Ran and Shaw thing is about as well."

Slowly, Zuko nods, "I should go."

"I should come."

"She won't let you."

"I'll find a way to come."

"No you won't. Not against my sister."

"I can still try."

_Knockknockknock_.

Zuko raises a disbelieving eyebrow at Aang. Aang shrugs then calls, "Come in!"

The door swings open to reveal one of the only surface-side citizens able to travel between the surface and The Republic. June the Bounty Hunter strides into the room, greets Zuko with a "Prince Pouty," which he scowls at, and stops next to Aang. She gestures to the teenage Avatar and says simply to Piandao, the man in the doorway, "The Avatar, alive and kicking, just like I told you."

Aang blinks. Piandao blinks.

Aang stares, "Uh…Master Piandao…what are…how can I help you? Afraid Sokka isn't here right now…I…"

"I watched you be incinerated," Piandao says as Aang trails off.

"That was a kid Azula got," Zuko explains. "She said he was sick and agreed to do it because he 'was dying anyway'. Aang wasn't anywhere near there."

Zuko's and Aang's expressions clearly describe their opinion on that method.

"Yeah, it's terrible, poor kid, we'll cry over it later. Piandao is my Dad," June explains swiftly. "He's helping me get back Nyla."

"Nyla's gone?" Zuko questions.

"Taken by your sister, thanks-a-lot Prince Pouty."

"I never know what Azula's doing! And stop calling me that!"

June makes a rude gesture at him then explains, "We think she's being held in Lake Laogai. I'm looking for Boulder." At the twin blank looks June rolls her eyes and repeats, "I'm looking for_ The_ Boulder."

"Ohhhh…" the boys remark in unison.

"I could help you get in there y'know," Aang points out.

"Having the Avatar along would make us targets," Piandao points out. "Moreso than we already are, that is."

"But-"

"Thanks for the offer, kid," says June, "but we're gonna have to pass. The arrow's kind of obvious."

"I can cover it up."

June cocks an eyebrow, "Aren't you the Air Nation's rep here? You dying would be bad."

"You're expecting heavy resistance then," Zuko surmises.

"Not at all, we're just gonna skip right into Lake Laogai and take Nyla from them then trot right back out with the guards giving us departing flowers in thanks," June remarks sarcastically.

"June," Piandao says disapprovingly.

"So where's Bol-The Boulder?" June questions impatiently.

"Somewhere here. He usually stops by and sees us when he's leaving. Haru at least, so he hasn't left yet," Aang explains.

"Helpful," June comments drily, turning back to the door. "Let's go Dad."

The minute they leave the house Piandao remarks disapprovingly, "You could stand to be a little more respectful of those two."

"They don't expect that of me. If I was to be respectful they would probably think I was being controlled or something."

Piandao clearly doesn't think that is a worthy excuse for impoliteness.

June sighs, "Look, we'll grab Bolin and-"

"Bolin?"

"The Boulder. Bolin is his birth name. It's a family name, apparently."

"You know this man well?"

June smirks, "He tried to ask me out when we first met. I turned him down because I was hunting his friend. I've found that business and romantic relationships don't mix." Her smirk shifts into a smile, "We flirt now."

Piandao raises an eyebrow thoughtfully, "I see. I believe your older brother may have mentioned him once."

"What brother?"

"Mako. Apparently, he went to an Earth Rumble when he was by Gaoling. The Boulder was one of the competitors."

"That's definitely Bolin."

"He sounded…interesting."

"That's Bolin."

* * *

**Sun Warrior Ruins, Fire Nation, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Ablutu 17, 104 ASC – 08:12 WST**

Zuko remains silent, trailing behind Azula as she strides through the ruins in the same path he took with Aang. He's positive that she'll spot the traps he and Aang did not so he doesn't bother speaking up about the wire across the pathway which, when tripped, will make the stones beyond it sink into the ground and reveal spikes.

Sure enough, she stops a foot in front of the wire and stares down at it. She frowns, crouches, and promptly slices it with one of her daggers, carefully keeping her body behind the wire. The stones beyond it sink into the ground, revealing the spikes. She stands, takes a couple steps back, and then darts forward. At the edge of the spiked pit she leaps, propelling herself over the eight foot pit with a burst of cobalt flames. She flips and lands easily on her feet, dipping quickly into a roll and twisting back onto her feet as she turns to face himself and her friend whose name was apparently Loki.

Zuko nearly burned Loki when he and Azula realized they were being followed by the guy. Azula had sighed then permitted Loki to accompany them through the ruins, something which Zuko still thought was pointless. If Loki had managed to follow them all the way to the ruins without being noticed then he could certainly continue it even after they found him one time.

Zuko does the same as Azula, propelling himself off the ground and wall with an extra burst of flame then rolling upon impact with the opposite side of the pit. Loki just leaps over the pit and doesn't bother rolling. The guy is unnaturally strong.

Azula glances at Zuko, "They should recognize you."

"So?"

"Use that to your advantage," she strides forward.

They reach the temple an hour later. As it was the first time he came here it's covered in gold and jewels, with a large celestial calendar in front of the massive stone doors. Azula pauses for a split-second, staring at the sun then the sunstone atop the door, then turns to Zuko and grabs one of his dual Dao swords. Easily, she captures the sun rays and manipulates them it to hit the sunstone. She tosses the sword back to Zuko as the massive gold-and-stone doors slide open.

The doors swing into the room with the statues depicting the Dancing Dragon. Azula's eyes widen as she strides into the room, staring at the statues. After a moment, she moves to the carvings and paintings on the walls, her eyes flicking across the images of Agni and Svahango riding their respective phoenixes and dragons, and across the stylized representations of the Sun.

On the right wall there is a portrait of Azul, followed by the first Child of Azul, a man named Tonat. Across the wall are the portraits of the Children of Azul, all twelve, from Tonat to the man three centuries ago, a radical artist by the name of Zhong. The portraits end a quarter of the way down the wall, leaving room for future Children of Azul, and Azula's hand twitches. She seems ready to reach up and touch the empty spot beside Zhong where her face should go, but she doesn't move. Instead, she stares at the words below the portrait of Azul, surrounded by blue flames. Soundlessly, she recites the words:

_Alongside the legends of Earth, Air, and Water, the Children of Azul have brought Golden Ages to the Children of Dragons and dedicated their lives to protecting the Great Element from threats both within and beyond. They will never die so long as we remember them, these Children of Azul, these Dragons._

A shaky breath of azul flames leaves Azula's mouth. She shuts her eyes and says softly, "They were released around here."

Zuko moves forward, reading the inscription, then glances at Azula. He never thought he would see her appear to be so young, so innocent. Even when she was a child she was terrifying, appeared older, and was as far from morally innocent as a person could get.

She falls on her knees and rests her forehead on the ground between her forearms. Zuko stares as she murmurs something to the ground, her shoulders shaking. He glances at Loki, vainly hoping that he has any idea what she's doing. He just looks confused.

"Released?" Loki questions.

"We burn our dead," Zuko explains distractedly. "Their ashes were released here."

He nods in understanding and Azula rises. Her presence can only be described as humbled, but still with an air of undeniable pride. She turns to Zuko, swiftly wiping the humbled expression off her face, "What did you do here?"

"The Dragon Dance," he answers quickly, unable to bring himself to try and make this more difficult for her. He returns to the Dragon Dance statues depicting, he realizes now that he's taken the time to look at the portraits, Azul himself. Zuko stands behind the statue of Azul on the right. Azula takes the position he gestures for her to take behind the Azul statue on the left and understands immediately as the stone she stands on depresses under her weight. Loki stands outside the ring of statues and watches as the siblings begin the Dragon Dance. They turn and twist, their feet and fists punching the air, their legs stretching to the side, before their fists punch to the side, mere inches from one another, and a rumble echoes from the centre of the room.

They turn, watching as a stone pedestal decorated with gold, orange and red rises from the ground with a large golden stone sitting atop it. Azula and Loki each raise an eyebrow in eerie synchronization.

"Don't touch it," Zuko says hastily.

"Obviously," Azula says, striding towards it but keeping her hands to herself. She walks around it, inspecting it, then looks up at Zuko, "You touched it, didn't you?"

His expression answers that question positively.

Azula smirks, "What happened when you touched it?"

"This…sticky stuff flooded the room and we were plastered to the vent," he answers, pointing above them to the vent in the ceiling. "A few hours later the Sun Warriors found us."

She looks up at the vent, back at the massive doors, then at the egg. She frowns.

She turns to Zuko abruptly, "Where did the Sun Warriors take you?"

He licks his lips and crosses his arms, "To the Eternal Flame."

"Take me there."

With fear growing in the pit of his belly, Zuko agrees.

They get halfway to the Eternal Flame before being attacked. Flames erupt from the stones around them and the siblings move immediately to block and deflect. Loki narrowly avoids being singed and reflexively his body temperature drops and his green eyes flash red. Azula turns, launching herself off Loki's shoulder to send a slice of blue flames in front of him that block the ochre flames advancing. She lands lightly, her eyes widening minutely at the sight of Loki's blue flesh and red eyes. Nearly as quickly as the colour of his flesh and eyes had changed, it returns to its standard pale and green. Azula looks away and twists; blocking a flame and ready to advance, but no one is attacking anymore.

She watches, her eyebrows rising, as the azul flames in front of her whisper away and the man in front of her blanches, his eyes widening, them throws himself to the ground, prostrating himself in front of her. The firebenders around them do the same and Zuko looks quizzically at them.

"Prince Zuko," a man with a round belly, a tied beard, and half his face painted steps out of the stone structures. He greets Zuko with a smile that promises bad things to come then turns to Azula, whom he bows respectfully to as he says, "It has been three-hundred years since a Child of Azul has last entered our territory."

"You might get more people if you advertised a bit more," she points out.

"We do not permit those who have entered our territory to tell others of it," the Chief explains, rising.

"Zuko didn't speak to me about your society," Azula says honestly.

"You discovered us on your own then?"

"Essentially," Azula answers. "I am Fire Lord and Earth Queen Azula Tonatiuh. You already know my brother, Zuko, and this is my friend, Loki, who failed to remain behind and opted to trail us solely to irritate me."

The Chief's eyes narrow, "Your brother passed the test, but you have done far more. Even as a Child of Azul you may not be so lucky."

"What may I call you?"

"I am Chief Agneya."

"Chief Agneya, you will find that I was born lucky."

"You wish to learn from the Masters, Ran and Shaw, then."

"Of course."

Chief Agneya's eyes grow sharp and he warns, "Then remember that they will not only judge _you_ and your actions, your beliefs, but your ancestry as well. You will find that they will not be sympathetic to you, no matter your past."

"I have never asked for sympathy, Agneya."

"Then move."

Agneya turns sharply and strides toward the Eternal Flame. Azula, with an appreciative smirk plastered on her face, follows.

They stop in front of a massive flame resting in a tall temple. The Sun Warriors accompanying them sit in a semi-circle watching the proceedings with straight backs and watchful eyes, while Zuko and Loki remain outside the semi-circle, watching. Azula stands in front of Agneya and the Eternal Flame, her eyes sparkling in delight.

"This is the first fire," Agneya explains, "the one that was first brought to Man-"

"People," Azula interjects.

Agneya frowns.

"People. Not Man."

"You believe you know more of the origins of firebending than us?"

"I know that millennia ago it wasn't only men who existed. That is what I know."

Agneya smirks, "True." He continues as if never interrupted, "This is the first fire that was brought to our ancestors by the dragons. We have kept it alive for thousands of years. You will, as your brother did, take a piece of it to the Masters to show your commitment to the sacred art of firebending."

Azula inhales deeply, filling her body with the fire's energy.

Agneya flows his hands before the Eternal Flame and Azula watches carefully, noting his movements as he turns and presents a flame to her. She reaches out and as he releases the flame from his control she takes it, causing the flame to be engulfed in blue that hovers above her palm. Agneya explains as she stares, wide-eyed, at the flame, "This ritual illustrates the essence of Sun Warrior philosophy. You must maintain a constant heat to ensure it does not become too small and go out, and you mustn't make it too big so you don't lose control."

Azula smirks, seeing no problem with that task.

"Now, you must go up the mountains," Agneya points to the mountains in the distance. "The Masters are at the top. Do not lose the flame."

Azula turns to the mountains and promptly strides past the Sun Warriors, heading straight for the Masters.

The Sun Warriors, Zuko, and Loki ascend the mountains a different way, via a staircase built right into the mountains within a tunnel.

"Why didn't you tell us about this staircase?" Zuko questions, walking upfront with Chief Agneya. "Aang and I could've gotten to the top faster."

"You didn't ask," Agneya responds.

Zuko frowns.

"We left after her, we might not make it up before her," Loki points out as the sun begins to return to the tunnel and they climb out of the tunnel onto the staircase behind the platform for Ran and Shaw.

"The stairs are quicker. We will arrive be-" Agneya stops abruptly as they reach the top of the staircase and walk around the staircase leading up to Ran and Shaw's platform. Sitting at the centre of the massive sun carved and painted into the stone in front of the platform's staircase is Azula, calmly meditating with the blue flame split in half and resting in her palms. "…fore her."

"How'd-"

"You are quick," Agneya comments as he approaches Azula and the Sun Warriors move into a circle around the sun carving.

She opens her eyes, "Of course. Why would I bother with walking and climbing when I could just get up here in 15 minutes by using my firebending?"

"You used your firenbending to get up here? But what about the flame?" Agneya questions.

"I didn't put it out, nor did I lose control, and you expect me to bend it to keep it alive," Azula explains. "Nothing was said about me being forbidden from bending the fire to create other things that would assist me in getting up here."

"It was _implied_."

"Not particularly well." She glances at Zuko, "You walked all the way up here didn't you?"

Zuko doesn't even bother answering, just crosses his arms.

"Brilliant," Azula comments. She turns to Agneya, "What's next?"

"You get incinerated," Ham Ghao, Chief Agneya's most honoured warrior and poet sneers.

Azula ignores him.

"You will climb the stairs and meet Ran and Shaw. There, they will look into your heart, your soul, and your ancestry and decide if you are worthy of learning the truth of firebending," Agneya states. Azula doesn't blink. Agneya straightens up and swiftly grabs two pieces of her fire and hands them to his Sun Warriors, turning the blue flames orange. Agneya raises his arms, declaring, "Chanters!"

With that, himself and Ham Ghao move behind her, giving her the room to climb the staircase to the platform. As the Sun Warriors chant, play their drums, and keep their flames in large circles, Azula climbs confidently up the staircase. Zuko watches his little sister climb, the drums hammering ancient murmurs into his skull as he clenches his sweaty hands into fists.

As she reaches the platform and stares into the tunnels on either side, one of the warriors declares, "She who wishes to meet the masters Ran and Shaw, will now present her fire!"

Azula raises an eyebrow then turns and splits the fire into two pieces. With one flame in each palm she bows and presents the flames to both tunnels.

"Sound the call!" declares Chief Agneya.

The Dragon Horn nestled in the mountains sends a deep, loud call across the rocks. Loki raises a brow, turning his gaze from the Dragon Horn back to the platform where Azula bows, unmoving, even as the tunnels shake and debris fall from their mouths.

Abruptly, Azula straightens up and brings the flame back to her chest. A split-second later a massive red serpentine dragon erupts from the left tunnel as his blue twin erupts from the right. A moment passes with the dragons soaring up and down, around the platform, around Azula, then she splits the flame again and presents it once again to the dragons. To Ran and Shaw, the dragons, blue and red, all rippling muscle, scales, talons, teeth, and hair.

Hoping for some form of explanation, Loki glances at Zuko. Zuko doesn't appear to be surprised but does seem anxious. His hands are clenched into fists and he's staring so hard at his sister standing up there still with blue fire in her hands that he should be getting a headache.

"Come on, come on, come on," he's muttering. "_Aang_ got this, you should-" he stops abruptly as Azula begins to move, her blue fire following her movements in circles and twists and jabs, never dying. She punches the side and the blue flames lick off her knuckles to whisper away in the air as the Dragon Dance ends.

All the blood drains from Zuko's face as Ran and Shaw land on the sides of the stairs and raise their heads to face Azula. Then, they _breathe_.

Fire of every colour imaginable and some not, erupt from their mouths and engulf the young Fire Lord and Earth Queen.

It takes a moment before her scream reaches them past the roar of the flames.

Zuko twitches sharply and nearly leaps past the Sun Warriors but Loki's cool hand wraps around his arm, keeping him firmly away from the dragons. For what seems to be an hour, the flames surround Azula, but they do die, eventually, and Ran and Shaw take flight, twisting and soaring back into the mountains. Azula falls. She hits the platform, her arms failing to get beneath her to break her fall, and smoke rises from her body.

Zuko stills, Loki's eyes widen, and the grimy sensation of fear makes a home in their bellies.

"Lunch," Ham Ghao comments with a snide smirk.

"She…she didn't make it…" Zuko's entire face falls, his eyes wide with terror plastered across them. _She's dead. She's dead. She's dead. That doesn't make any sense! _He twists out of Loki's grasp and darts past the Sun Warriors, his eyes shining.

He makes it up to the platform in record time, slowing as he approaches the smoking body of his little sister. Her clothing is completely incinerated but her flesh isn't marked at all, and she's shaking. She's _shaking._

"Azula," Zuko breathes, darting around to her face and simultaneously pulling off his tunic.

Her eyes are wide and tears are streaming down her face and her mouth is moving, repeating the words, "He was wrong, he was wrong, he was wrong. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it, I knew it."

"What? What are – here, Zula, wear this," Zuko says, reaching out to her as she curls over onto her hands and knees, laughter spilling from her lips.

Hastily, he wraps his tunic around her as she laughs, "I knew I was right, but he didn't believe me, no one believed me! But I was _right! I was right!"_

His hands grip her arms tightly, spurring her laughter to fade away as she stares at him, her eyes narrowing at his shining eyes, "What the…aw, Zuzu are you _crying?_" She laughs.

His grip on her arms tighten as he questions, ignoring her own question, "Are you alright?"

She chuckles, extricating herself from his hands as she rises, "Of course I am." She turns away from him, heading for the stairs, her chuckles stopping abruptly and a confused frown crossing her face as her mind becomes occupied by dum-dum.

Zuko shoots to his feet, keeping his hands firmly at his sides although they twitch, intent on moving to his sister's shoulders along with his arms. Hastily, he questions to distract himself, "What do you mean you knew?"

"I knew that firebending had to do with life, passion and ambition, dum-dum," Azula says, heading down the stairs ahead of him hastily because she doesn't know how, and doesn't want, to deal with a near-tears Zuko. "I simply was unaware as to how much of it was fuelled by life."

Zuko blinks, somehow both stunned and not, then shakes his head and follows her down the stairs.

"You're alive," Ham Ghao says bluntly, looking wholly disappointed by that fact as Azula and Zuko reach the bottom of the stairs.

"As I said before, born lucky," Azula says, a cheerful smirk spreading across her mouth.

"You received your lesson," Chief Agneya says.

"Did you learn anything though?" questions Loki.

Azula smirks conspiratorially then silently shuts her eyes and inhales. The air turns cool and the flames hovering in the torches behind the Sun Warriors shrink and morph from the shades of the citrus fruits the Fire Nation loved to the shades of the terrain the Water Tribes occupied. She exhales and the air grows hot. Flames shoot up, turning into raging fires of sapphires and diamonds. The air turns hazy in the extreme heat created simply by Azula's small breaths, and the energy in Loki's scepter pauses in its rhythmic pulsing.

Zuko makes a strangled noise in the back of his throat and Loki, unaware of the significance of Azula firebending and heatbending without movement, merely tugs on his collar while the energy in his scepter continues innocently pulsing. Only Chief Agneya seems unsurprised.

"I believe I did," Azula answers, opening her eyes and permitting the flames to shrink and return to their usual citrus shades.

"I can't beat you at anything, can I?" Zuko groans, dragging his hands down his face.

"You're stronger than me," Azula points out.

"Yeah, but you're miniature."

She shoots him a wholly unimpressed look and scoffs, shooting white flames from her nostrils that flick dangerously closer to Zuko's nose. He glares at her.

"We will supply you with some clothes," says Chief Agneya, looking down at Azula draped in her brother's tunic, "and then, the doors that have not been opened for three-hundred years will be opened once again by a Child of Azul."

**11:56 WST**

With their bellies filled and Azula adorned in the clothing of a Sun Warrior, they stand in front of a set of doors hidden at the base of the mountains amidst trees and rock.

Azula sheathes her daggers and steps back from the doors they had freed from overrunning vegetation and rock. The remnants of the vines are now on the ground, carpeting the entry. The doors are covered in carved flames and inlaid with blue and white stones that are dulled due to inattention, while stretching up from the centre of the door are a collection of blue stones, the middle one of which has its center carved out like a black pupil.

"They're dull," Azula states.

"Our traditions state that the Azul Rooms are to be cared for by Azul and his children," Agneya explains.

Azula looks at him incredulously, "They expect me to _clean_ this place?"

"Well, no one else can get in," Agneya points out with a hint of a smirk. "Only the flames of Azul and his children can unlock this door and uncover its secrets."

Azula opens her mouth to say something but doesn't and turns back to the door. She twists her right hand and slams her palm against the middle blue stone. Blue flames shoot into the stone's hole, filling it and launching into the contraption within the door itself. Searing steam shoots from the edges of the door and slowly the doors begin to separate and slide into the mountain wall.

The doors stop moving when they are two feet apart. Azula raises an eyebrow and kicks the base of the left door. Nothing happens. Clearly, not being used for three-hundred years took a toll on the doors.

She glances back at Agneya.

"Those of us who are not Children of Azul are unable to enter. Those who have tried to enter after a Child of Azul have all died," Agneya explains.

Azula turns back to the doors and raises her eyebrows as she looks at the ceiling beyond the doors. Exhaling, she walks through the doors. Two steps in, the stone she walks onto sinks and the doors behind her slam shut.

_FWOOM!_

Orange and yellow illuminate the room and Azula twists instinctively, grabbing the flames that attack her from either side and extinguishing them in a blue circle around her body.

As if the blue were a trigger, the entry-room illuminates thanks to the torches on either side of her that had just attacked her…somehow. She stares suspiciously at the torches for a moment before striding forward, creating a blue flame in her palm to illuminate her own way into the small tunnel ahead. She can hear bugs and snakes amidst the dust and dirt, and glances at the walls, carved and painted crudely, by people who either were not trained to carve and paint on the walls or were not particularly good artists. She pauses at the markings beneath one of the carvings that she thinks is supposed to be of a woman. The markings were carved then painted into the wall and read simply: _My love. –Sozin Tonat_.

Azula straightens up abruptly, looking back down the dark tunnel. An incredulous expression crosses her face and she darts to the only collection of artwork that was well done. She scans the carvings and paintings until she finds the markings she was looking for that read simply: _Zhong._

Sozin Tonat, the first Child of Azul, not an artist by profession. Zhong, the most recent Child of Azul, an artist by profession who effectively erased his first name from history and was known only as Zhong.

Quickly, she runs through the rest of the carvings and paintings, spotting twelve different names easily once she knows what to look for. The Children of Azul apparently made a tradition of creating graffiti on their way into the place.

Well. Alright then. Swiftly, Azula takes out one of her daggers and grabs a stone that appears to have been used to carve into the walls. A half hour later she's successfully carved her name into an empty space of the wall alongside a, she'll admit, rather pathetic self-portrait.

Figuring she can return and add in some more graffiti, Azula turns back to the door at the end of the tunnel. Finally, she stands beneath the door and looks up at the carvings scrawled professionally across it.

_Beyond Here Lie the Lives of Dragons_

Below the professional carvings are more graffiti:

_**Enter! If you DARE. **_

_If we're dragons, does that mean we're immortal?_

_-Tonat, you are truly dim. -Zhong_

_**I wish other people could see this. It is amazing to be having conversations with the past on a stone door.**_

_-I have to disagree, Tizoc. My mother would kill me for defacing something so old; I hope she never sees this. Or any of my other work. -Zhong_

Azula stares at the door for a moment, trying to reconcile the crudely drawn representation of a dragon-ified Tonat with the legends of the first Child of Azul who managed to keep the Fire Nation from falling apart due to a series of brutal civil wars. Zhong's comments were a little less unexpected. The man was strange.

Pushing aside the sudden destruction of the mystery and majesty of her "brothers," Azula pushes on the heavy stone door. With the addition of a lever created with her daggers she manages to push the door open. She stumbles beyond it and finds herself staring at thousands of years of Fire Nation history.

The scent of old papyrus, stale ink, dirt and dust, old gold, copper and leather mingles with the presence of old spirits. Azula takes a step forward, staring at the immense room covered in memories that jut off into dark gemstone-encrusted and carved corridors. Abruptly, she falls to her knees and presses her forearms and forehead against the floor. A prayer for Svahango and Azul found in the Atar slips from her lips and engulfs the silent room.

The graffiti is long forgotten.

* * *

**A/N: **I spotted a thread mentioning this fic on tumblr and joined in on that conversation (although I forgot to link to this story in my first comment, FAIL). Regardless, I hope you folks brought here via there enjoy this story!

Not as much Loki here, but he's busy observing. His role will definitely be increasing as the story goes on, as you can probably guess. And yes, I am shamelessly delving into the role of crack-shipping. Ignore if you want, I promise it won't hurt my feelings.

Ablutu – January (from the process of ablution)

Agneya – means 'son of Agni'

Tonat – supposedly this is Latin and means 'it thunders'

Hohana – Maori name meaning 'healer'

Tizoc – the seventh tlatoani of Tenochtitlan (Aztec emperor)

Atar – the sacred text of the Fire Nation's dominant religion/philosophy (_Atar_ is the name for the Zorastrian concept of holy fire, roughly described as 'burning and unburning fire' or 'visible and invisible fire')

**I'm overjoyed you're letting me know you're enjoying this! Thank you!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Rating: M**

_Avatar: The Last Airbender, Legend of Korra, and The Avengers do not belong to me. I am merely mixing together the sandboxes._

**Warnings: AU; **_**[see Chapter Warnings]**_

**Synopsis: When your own flames burn you but you're too stubborn to fall, your only option is to walk through the flames. Or, in which Azula meets another second-born and throws her planet into the world of intergalactic war. Azula-centric. **

* * *

_**Chapter Warning(s): erasure of women from history, violence, non-graphic animal testing, animal imprisonment**_

* * *

_**Edited 07/30/12 to fix a lack of strike-throughs, which do not seem to want to cooperate with me so instead I took out letters. The beginning should make more sense now.  
**_

* * *

**Second-Born**

"_Who lies for you will lie against you."_

Bosnian Proverb

**Chapter 5**

* * *

_Agni and Svahango came to me once. _

_He was grand and bright, robeless, sprawled across the air in nothing but red heat, ash, and glittering obsidian jewels littered across his flesh. His eyes were large and expressive; every emotion he felt was displayed with pride upon his face. He never shied from expression. His flames, his hair, his flesh, his teeth, his lips, they would jump and twist, everchanging, with every movement he made and every emotion he felt, even though the coal and obsidian that created his bones and teeth and nails were immovable._

_In the dark area, enclosed yet not, he was overbearing, all-encompassing. His flames, his light, licked at the imaginary walls and ceiling while rushing lava spread across the floor, searing with heat that I knew would drown me if I took one step forward._

_She was grand and bright, robeless, pristine and precise in nothing but blue sparks, white light, and great, imposing diamonds formed from the coal she stole from the flaming body of her sometimes brother sometimes father sometimes lover sometimes son. _

_He made a habit of stealing her fury and delight whenever she touched the earth. He claimed her arrival as his own doing so she claimed his coal-and-obsidian bones in retaliation._

_Her diamond teeth created canyons in the mountains while her nails ripped across La in a delightful dance and sometimes battle. _

_When she came she pushed Agni from the sky and let Tui and La dance. Water pounded the lands Agni pulsed over and she stepped down upon, usually not intending to harm the lands, for forests would grow back, better than ever after being bathed in the scorching heat of her flames and sparks. But lightning was fickle and diamonds would cut and slash even when they did not intend to. _

_Svahango was quiet when she came to me. Agni was loud. They fought, grappling for dominance with one another, both wanting to be great and more than they were intended. They were spirits of Lightning and Sun, determined to lead their chosen warriors – they called themselves Sun Warriors, and while Svahango would continue to respect her brother-father-son-lover's people she would never forgive them for that slight, that insult, that refusal to acknowledge her existence…still they were determined to lead their warriors to greatness alongside the warriors of their other siblings-lovers-friends. She watched, waiting, then the battle between her and Agni erupted as the Sun Warriors proclaimed Agni the Bringer of Life – and yes, that was correct, Agni, the Sun, helped to bring life but he brought death just as easily, especially in the depths of his volcanoes, alongside lava and ash that infected the innards of the mortals and brought them down, choking, gasping, on the might of Agni – and Svahango the Bringer of Death – and yes, that was correct, Svahango, Lightning and Blue, helped to bring death but she brought life too. If it wasn't for her actions fire would have never m d it t th s c ll d S War . Sh would t av dared to tou h th l nd a d let her footprints spawn r d and y ll w and or ge flames, th r by g v ng hem the to ls neces ary for heat, for prop l ion, for surv al. _

_ f it w re up to Agni the S Warr ors woul ave exis ed. Svahango had a w ys been the r b l. _

_I watched them bicker. It took some time before finally an agreement of sorts was reached and Svahango turned to me, her voice as precise and sharp as her stance, and pressed her sparking blue-and-white hand to my forehead._

_ The s lf- mp s d soc et l illu on wa d. _

_Then, I saw the fires of which I was named for, and I was named h r warr or. A Svahango W rri r the Legendary Azul. Agni's Son._

_ It t ok y ars before Agni got inv l ed gain. H Agni got his dragon and Svahango's dragon to educate me. I soon found that there were more fires than just red, yellow, orange, blue, and white._

_~Azul_

_::  
_

**The Azul Rooms, Sun Warrior Ruins, Fire Nation, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Ablutu 17, 104 ASC – 12:12 WST**

Azula's manicured fingers hover above the scratched out and missing characters. Her frown deepens, recalling the scrolls she read from the time when Fire Lord Suziko took the throne. Nearly everything to do with her was scratched or blotted out. Kuei would have known of her, if only because of his kingdom's archives which likely did not burn or blot out everything to do with Suziko and that "debacle," or "dark time." She only knew of Suziko because of her access to the archives of the Fire Sages and their tendency to not burn any scrolls. If she had relied solely on the palace archives and library she would have found Suziko in a footnote and a family tapestry, not anywhere else.

Her ancestors were not fond of Suziko

Apparently, they were not fond of Svahango either.

Azula could take a guess as to why. Likely for a similar reason as to why they tried to edit Zhong's artwork, especially the pieces that dared to identify Svahango as the source of the first fire.

Really, it was probably _both_ Agni _and_ Svahango who brought the first fire to the ancient peoples. But, people insisted on identifying only one person. Spirit.

It would make sense that Svahango was the one who granted Azul his blue flames, Azula knows. Svahango, for as long as Azula has known in history, has been identified in conjunction with the colours blue and white, lightning, precision, calm, and dedication. She held the traits necessary to bend lightning, and presented herself as a never-ending azul flame.

Vaguely, Azula recalls Svahango being mentioned in conjunction with Tui and La. Usually Tui, because of the apparent connection between thunderstorms and the evening, but, at least since the beginning of the Hundred Years War, that connection has never been mentioned. Logically so. Connecting one of firebending's chief spirits with one of the enemy's – waterbending's – chief spirits would be terrible, politically, militarily, etcetera.

The complete erasure of the concept of Svahango's Warriors, however, and the replacement of that title with the one of the Children of Azul, is odd. They could have been connected to a Spirit at least partially responsible for bringing the first fire to firebenders, and not a mere mortal man with a talent for firebending! Being the warrior of a Spirit was much more impressive than merely being a child of a man with impressive firebending. She could already claim that without her blue flames, after all. Even Zuzu could claim that.

She much preferred being the Fourteenth Warrior of Svahango to the Thirteenth Child of Azul.

Perhaps, she would begin the resurgence of Svahango appreciation. If she began with mentioning it to Ty Lee the idea would spread like one of Agni's fires. Encouraging her connection not to Azul, that mortal man few knew much about beyond his talent for firebending, his military accomplishments, and his political triumphs, but to Svahango, whom everyone knew to be one of the most powerful Spirits in existence, responsible for lightning, responsible for bridging the barriers between water and fire to create some of the most impressive thunder-and-lightning storms to be seen, responsible for the bone-chilling flashes of light in the sky that stopped people in their tracks, responsible for the unpredictable cases of non-firebenders surviving lightning strikes while others perished instantly. The Queen of Flames and Lightning. The Mistress of Phoenixes and Dragons. The Spirit whose actions were unpredictable, whose motivations were unknown and, in some cases, irrelevant. The Spirit who was capable of unleashing a crippling combination of fear and trust wherever she stepped, leaving behind either flawless earth or scorched mountains, depending on her mood and the mood of her sparks.

Being connected to Svahango was much more impressive. She was the original Dominator. The original Queen. And, if the legends were true; of her being the spirit to give the first flame to the ancient peoples, and the spirit to give Azul his talents and skills in firebending that allowed him to rise up and bring together the ancient tribes to form one beautiful society called, ironically, the Sun Warriors; then not only was she the original Queen, but she was the Orchestrator of the very creation of the Fire Nation itself.

Yes.

Being connected to Svahango would be magnificent.

Being likened to her would be even better. After all, Azula needed people to fear, obey, or trust her, and Svahango was capable of bringing about all three simultaneously and effortlessly.

Azula refused to wind up like Mother, Zuko, or Grandfather. She would be greater than them all. Perfect. So no one could find a way to take her out of the picture without suffering from a violent civilian, political, economic, or military uproar. Her value would become undeniable. Like Svahango, like Suziko. But unlike both of them, Azula and her accomplishments would not be erased from history.

Azula makes a note to order the production of new royal artwork. Blues and whites would dominate them. Perhaps there would be some artwork with her lightningbending. Also, she needs to remove some red from her wardrobe. Replace it with blue.

That will be a good start, along with Ty Lee's "inadvertent" word-of-mouth campaign.

Satisfied for the moment, she purges her way through the catacombs of Svahango's Warriors, her mind drinking in the information fed to her by her predecessors.

It takes some time before she gets past the memories of her immediate predecessor (interspersed with various other memories of her other "brothers", the organizational system was not as good as it appeared to be) and reaches the bulk of Azul's memories. She reads his writings, translating his old language into one more understandable in her modern education.

_::_

_I have forgotten how prevalent water is. Kanahoa reminded me today. Tui was full in the sky today, beautiful, and I watched as Kanahoa stood waist-deep in the water and raised her arms._

_She's so beautiful. My own personal moon, Kanahoa. _

_She allowed me to see her skin that night, all of it, glistening in the moonlight, overcome by the water she bent. She bent the water in the veins of the trees around me, the vines danced around her and then she ordered me to cut my palm. I did._

_Then she turned to me and bent the blood that bubbled up from my palm. She cleaned the wound and pressed her hands around my own, making the blood clot, healing my cut before my eyes._

_Kanahoa is a bloodbender, a healer, a master waterbender, and she healed my cut then let me touch her soft-_

_::  
_

Azula grimaces and pulls away from the scroll. No. She was not reading about Azul's sex life. (With a waterbender? Really?)

That was like reading about her father's sex life.

No.

She skips forward, frowning at the mention of another type of bending.

_::_

_The Avatar spoke to me today. He said that he was concerned for Mah__ā__bh__ū__ta's well-being. According to his past lives the Great Element has changed much since the time of our ancestors. We have lost our balance, hence the recent battles I've had to deal with._

_Why do these people not see that this is what is best for them? I know what I am doing, why can they not see that?_

_He is uncertain, however, as to how we will regain our balance. He mentioned that we were separated. I pointed out that the nations have been separated always. Since before the Sun Warriors even existed we were separated, mainly merely because of the fact that we were separated by miles of oceans from other nations – whether they politically existed or not._

_Apparently, I am wrong. Apparently, we were not always separated. At least, that's what he claims his past lives have said._

_Once, we were simply Mah__āb__h__ūta. A gathering of people, some with the ability to manipulate the energy around us. Not lightening necessarily. Simply, energy. Waterbenders, earthbenders, airbenders, firebenders, we did not exist. We were simply benders. Benders of energy._

_He hasn't told me what happened to change that and I am not certain that I wish to know, but it does concern me. If our ancestors managed to separate from themselves, from their own abilities as benders, and take only parts of that bending as their own, then where will it end? When will we be satisfied with our separation? Our segregation?_

_Will it be when the slaves of the Earth Kingdom rebel? Will it be when the Fire Nation's freaks scream? Will it be when the Water Tribes' nonbenders run? Will it be when the Air Nation's rebels leap from their homes?_

_I am frightened for our future. If we do not change, return to our legends of peace and prosperity and equality, who is to say that we will not wind up battling one another again instead of ourselves?_

_He brought up the idea of a global council. It will be difficult. Traveling that often and that far will not be easy for many of us, but I know that he finds it difficult, having to remain neutral despite the fact that he has such a strong connection to his home. I must help the Avatar, I must help my friend. Representatives of each nation, a bender each, a nonbender each – as Chief Hohana suggested – we need to fix this. It will not be easy, especially with the Earth King being so uncooperative. _

_I will be traveling to the Earth Kingdom to gain an audience with the Earth King. Hopefully, he will see me. Hopefully, bringing along his legendary earthbender, Jin, will help tip the discussion in my favour. _

_We need him on our side. I fear what will happen if we do not have him with us._

_We need to be complete once again. I do not wish for our home to be buried beneath the Four Elements due to our own stupidity._

_::  
_

Azula frowns and moves on to the next azul firebender's memories.

* * *

**Tizoc's Gardens, Royal Caldera City, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Apasdeva 13, 104 ASC – 14:12 CPT**

Phoenix King Ozai inhales, the cerulean light of the scepter covering his forearm as he moves his hand back and gestures for Loki to leave. Loki frowns slightly. Ozai ignores him as two of his guards firmly guide Loki back down the hallway, leaving the energized Phoenix King to enter the gardens alone.

Standing in the gardens in her royal robes with artfully displayed rocks behind her is his teenage daughter. In front of her are the Court Photographer, Court Painter, and two artists from the Royal Mint of the Fire Nation.

Azula commissioned a statue to be displayed in Ba Sing Se, one that undoubtedly presents her as a competent, trustworthy ruler, hence the smile that, surprisingly, doesn't look terribly awkward on her. Ozai knows that a second statue will be built in Royal Caldera City except instead of a static pose she will appear to be lightningbending.

The coins celebrating the year for when she is legally an adult will begin to be distributed through the Fire Nation – not the Earth Kingdom, their legal age is 19 – within the week so Ozai is willing to wager that this is also a final sitting for the Royal Mint to get her profile right for the most expensive coins.

Her eyes flick up to him a split-second before he comes into her view. Undoubtedly, her guards told her of his arrival the instant he landed in the country. He expected such a thing to happen and would be put out if it had not. He could do what he needed to do even with her expecting him. He may have taught her to lie, taught her to plot, but she would not surpass him. Not yet. He was still the teacher, and would always be half the reason for her very existence.

"Father, you received my message did you not?" she questions.

"I did not," he lies.

A frown nearly crosses her face but she restrains it, conscious of her current modeling. Instead, she says, "This is, unfortunately, not an ideal time to talk, Father. You are welcome to wait though."

"How was your vacation?" he asks, ignoring her offer.

"There is no such thing as a vacation when you are Fire Lord and Earth Queen, Father."

"You traveled though. Through the mountains, correct?" he says, well-aware that she was not traveling through the mountains last month.

"I have been busy."

"Catching up on work after your vacation."

The corners of her mouth twitch. She spreads her mouth into a thin line.

"You've been spending time with Loki," Ozai adds.

"He is able to speak with some intelligence," Azula justifies.

"You've been teaching him."

"He learns everyday; whether I am around or not."

Ozai pauses, watching his daughter as she remains still but manages to still watch him out of the corner of her eye, taking in everything about him. Just as taught. Once, he was proud of that. Now, he views it with some irritation and condescension. She has been a fool.

"Ming is dead," he announces bluntly.

Azula's eyes flick to him, widening, "Ming?" _Do you mean Lien?_

He nods. _Yes, I mean Lien, who else would I mean? _He explains, "Her wounds were too severe. Her body gave out after the meeting."

A flicker of confusion passes across Azula's eyes.

Of course there would be confusion. She barely harmed Lien Ming last time she was there and she's been the only one dealing with Ming since she was eight-years-old. The fact that _he_ interrogated Ming is more than a little odd.

"Interestingly enough, she doesn't favor the tiles you do in Pai Sho," Ozai says.

Ozai watches the connections cross, lightning-fast, through Azula's mind.

Pai Sho tiles plus Lien Ming. That refers to the White Lotus Tile. The White Lotus is the symbol of the Order of the White Lotus. Ming is known to know about the Order.

Translation: _Lien Ming didn't know as much about the Order of the White Lotus as you did, Azula. So where did you get your information and what have you been questioning Ming about when you go in there, if not about the Order?_

Conclusion: _I know you lied to me, Azula. I know you have used my teachings to lie to me. What else have you lied to me about? What else are you keeping from me, your own Father, the Phoenix King, Supreme Ruler of the World? And what, exactly, should I do about this show of disrespect?_

Fear flashes across Azula's face. Ozai doesn't lift his gaze from her. He just stares at her, as if daring her to disrespect him again.

Azula arranges her facial expression into one of regret, "Well, her passing is unfortunate."

She still fears him. Good.

"Tea?" he offers, signalling one of his handservants.

"No thank-you," she says smoothly, glancing at the steaming tea suspiciously.

Ozai smirks.

* * *

**Lake Laogai, Ba Sing Se, Earth Kingdom, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Apasdeva 14, 104 ASC – 23:52 BSST**

"What the…" June trails off, crouching in the tunnel Bolin created and looking out to the operation going on in the large room.

"You were right," Piandao murmurs softly, staring at the vials lined up on one of the counters across from the imprisoned poisonous animals.

"Bastards," June hisses then hops out of the tunnel and lands lightly on the ground. Her father follows lightly then Bolin brings up the rear, his right eyebrow rising at the sight of the laboratory. "Nyla!"

She darts across the room to the largest cage. She reaches through the bars immediately and brushes her fingers over Nyla's head, murmuring softly as Nyla sniffs her and growls lightly against her back.

"I'll free her," Bolin says. It took him a full day to quit referring to himself in third-person as 'The Boulder,' but he finally stopped, to Piandao's relief. He brushes his hands between two of the bars, and with a quick movement slams them apart. He moves between the bars then and kicks one side into the wall, flattening the metal bars against the earth. Nyla immediately squeezes out of the cage and sniffs Piandao and Bolin quickly.

"Girl, how are you? I'm sorry you were stuck here baby," June coos, ignoring her father rifling through the papers in one of the filing cabinets then moving to the computer and sifting through the files saved on it. Bolin moves down the row of cages, destroying bars and freeing the poisonous animals.

"The Bould – Boli – _I_ would like to know what's been going on here," Bolin says, pulling June's attention away from Nyla.

"They're trying to create a paralytic that they can produce themselves, without the animals," Piandao explains.

"Someone's coming," Bolin says quickly, darting to the lone door of the underground lab. "A silent alarm must have gone off. There are earthbenders."

"We can deal with them," June says confidently. "Anything else, Dad?"

"Something called Project Platinum."

"Here in three, two," Bolin moves into a solid stance. The rock door crashes open, narrowly missing his face. He stomps the ground, propelling a wave of earth across the lab and against the earthbenders. Piandao moves forward the instant the earth settles, withdrawing his Jian blade. June whistles and the animals move in behind Piandao.

"Destroy this place!" June shouts as she passes Bolin, Nyla charging ahead of her with her tongue flicking out and paralyzing the benders in reach.

Bolin turns, cracks his neck and takes in a deep breath, tensing his muscles. He stomps the ground, sinking his feet two inches into the earth, and punches his fists out. Spikes of earth surge up from the ground, splitting the counters in two. He snaps up a boulder and kicks it into the cages. A second boulder collides with the back wall. He kicks the wall beside him, sending vibrations up the wall, across the cages, and into the ceiling. Dust shudders from the ceiling and debris plummet, crashing into the metal of the cages, tumbling off the wall and covering the ground. Two kicks later he turns, leaves the room, and seals the opening before following the vibrations of Nyla and June.

He follows them into a large room with massive…suits of armor.

"Project Platinum, I would guess," Piandao says, catching Bolin's slack jaw and wide eyes.

"You would be correct," a skinny man dressed in green says, light coming on inside one of the suits, illuminating his face.

"Who-"

"Ki Shun," June answers quickly. "Supposed to be great with engines. His dad sells cabbages and hates the Avatar. Met the guy once. Little neurotic."

"Cabbages?"

"Family business."

"Oh."

"This is the purest metal on the planet," Shun declares. "No one can bend it. Not even the Inventor of Metalbending, and certainly not _you…_who are you anyway?"

"The Boulder."

Shun nods thoughtfully, "You were beaten by a 12-year-old girl weren't you?"

"The Inventor of Metalbending."

"Same thing."

Bolin nods, "You're right about that!" He stomps the ground, sending a fissure straight for Shun, "And The Boulder is her loyal student!"

Flames erupt from the roof. The animals and people roll and duck, attempting to avoid the flames, just in time for Shun and his robotic suits to advance.

"Take out the glass then get the people!" Piandao shouts, dodging a robotic claw just in time to run into a man jabbing out at him with his fingers. Piandao's left arm falls limp and he retaliates with a dodge and a jab. A woman attacks him from behind, jabbing her fingers swiftly into his back and legs. He hits the ground, his body limp, and catches out of the corner of his eye the sight of Nyla behind pulled underground. His eyes flick around as two men lift him up. He catches sight of Bolin being picked up and June, with her fury radiating from her, being carried in a platinum claw.

Then he inhales…something and there's nothing left.

* * *

**The Hall of Fenghuang, The Palace of the Phoenix King "The Nest", Businiao City, Eastern Air Province, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Tsuki 29, 104 ASC – 19:22 EST**

The young Fire Lord and Earth Queen stands in attire suited for both positions. A mingling of red, green, gold, brown, and black. Covering the fingernails on her thumbs, middle fingers and little fingers are intricately woven gold metal caps that move sharply into points that could claw eyeballs from sockets. Her hair is tied back into a half-topknot with her Fire Nation crown thrust through the topknot and connected through green ribbon bordered in gold to a headband that drops to her forehead into the symbol of the Earth Kingdom. Her eyes are outlined sharply in black, her lips are ruby-red just like her mother's once were, and carved into her traditional obsidian earrings are dragons with sapphire eyes.

She stands with the Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator of Ba Sing Se, a pale woman in her mid-thirties formerly known as Jo Dee and currently known as Pearl Nüwa. She stands firmly, her expression unpleasant, a side-effect of having to smile obnoxiously during her time as a Jo Dee. She will only smile when she wishes to. If the Earth Queen and Fire Lord asks her to smile and Pearl does not want to, she will not. It has been a long time since Pearl has had that kind of control and she will hold onto it until her death.

Pearl boasts high-society Earth Kingdom wear. All greens and golds and browns. Her black hair is pulled back into a half-topknot secured by a green ribbon and there is no sign upon her that identifies her clearly as the Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator of the largest city on the planet, however, her lack of shoes suggests strongly of her status as an earthbender. Her collection of rings is known to those close to her to be makeshift weapons if the need arises. Gem bullets.

Chief Arnook of the Northern Water Tribe is in all blues, whites, and purples. His attire, while altered to fit the Fire Nation climate, remains made of a heavier fabric than most. The lines across his face suggest he is older than his 43 years, brought on by a lifetime in a harsh climate and recent years submerged in war. He stands as a warrior does, ready and light on his feet, aware of the fact that he is a non-bender flanked by two benders and in the nation that has been his peoples' enemy for one-hundred years. He is armed traditionally, opting to leave his more advanced weaponry behind, with a club and a knife passed down from father-to-son in his family for generations resting against his back and waist.

His dark hair is flecked with grey with half pulled back into a warrior's wolf-tail. His eyes are habitually outlined in black as a necessary guard against the harsh reflections of the sun found on the icy tundra of his home. His bare arms reveal scars across his dark skin and shadows of muscles trained for a lifetime in the warrior's arts. A solid white circle representative of the moon is at his throat in a mourning necklace that remembers his daughter. There is little that suggests of his status as the leader of one of the last nearly completely independent territories on the planet.

They are three of the most politically powerful people on the planet.

Standing beside the Fire Lord and Earth Queen is a pale man with hair as dark as the Fire Lord and Earth Queen's obsidian earrings. He is garbed in greens, blacks, and golds, and has his hair pulled back into a small ponytail at the nape of his neck. He seems, while comfortable, out-of-place, if only by virtue of his height. He is taller than nearly everyone in the room. Additionally, his features are sharper and his eyes are a unique jewel-tone green that could conceivably be found among the Earth Kingdom's peoples but would nevertheless remain rare. The man, known only as Loki, is an enigma to the people not in the inner circle of the Fire Lord and Earth Queen. He speaks with what could be termed disrespect to the young woman in charge of more than half the planet, and yet she does not punish him. He is permitted into most areas even the Ministers of the Fire Nation are not permitted, and yet he has no title. He does not seem to be a bender and fights excellently, yet is not remembered by any soldier. He speaks as if he is educated, yet there are wide gaps in his knowledge about wholly inane things to do with the world and its society that are inexplicable.

Few dare inquire as to the purpose of Loki's presence. If the Fire Lord and Earth Queen wanted them to know of his purpose, she would inform them. The fact that she has not suggests that he is yet another secret and those who discover her secrets without her permission have a nasty habit of either turning up dead or not turning up at all.

Pearl has dared to inquire of his presence, having gone long enough without a full understanding of her leader's plots. She does not care what the Fire Lord and Earth Queen does to her for daring to question her. Pearl fears little now. Fear, she has learned, does not get you far, does not gain you control or understanding, especially when working beneath such a woman as Azula.

"He is my student," responds the Fire Lord and Earth Queen smoothly, in the same tone when Pearl inquired into the legality of her status as Earth Queen. The girl presented a document that claimed she was married to Earth King Kuei, which would be impossible. The Earth King had been missing for years, and is still missing. Pearl knew that she could not question it though and hope to get answers, so she let it go and ignored her signature on the piece of paper. Now, to question it would lead to nothing. Azula had wasted no time in altering the rule of succession that only permitted a woman to rule the Earth Kingdom if she was married to the Earth King. Pearl is certain that the marriage license was burned soon afterwards, amidst the uproar that came from the Earth Kingdom people who deemed the change to the rules against the will of the Spirits. After all, they were the ones who chose the Earth King and who deemed it necessary for the ruler to be a male and from a specific family, as in, _not_ Azula's family.

Pearl would admit to being impressed when Azula pulled out the ancient documents that outlined the rules of succession as they were created centuries ago and pointed out the initial lack of sex discrimination. Then she pulled out the rules from a century later and displayed when the change was made and the fact that there was no logical reason for making it.

Few people were placated by that evidence. The riots and protests continued until the Dai Li rounded up the leaders and imprisoned them. Azula brought down her hand quickly, decisively, and harshly, with the actions of the Phoenix King backing her up – he was, after all, the one who verbally changed the Rules of Succession for the Fire Nation when he had his second-born daughter named Fire Lord. Her past actions, when she made her status as Fire Lord legal not only though her father's words within a month, certainly helped her keep her power. The Dai Li stopped the protests swiftly and within weeks Azula was making trips to every province in the Earth Kingdom to speak to each province's King, including the new King of Omashu – Bumi had vanished shortly after the attempted retaking of Ba Sing Se by the Order of the White Lotus – and the leader of Kyoshi Island. Kyoshi Island was not fond of her, even when she paid her respects to Avatar Kyoshi and permitted her companion, Ty Lee, to instruct the newer Kyoshi Warriors on the basics of chi-blocking.

Pearl, despite knowing perfectly well what Azula could do to her, presses Azula for additional information, not only on Loki, but on her future plots.

Azula answers bluntly, "I am instructing Loki on the finer points of Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom culture and combat." She nods to Chief Arnook, "I hope to expand that education to include the Water Tribe."

Arnook learned early on after Sozin's Comet that he could either trust Azula, or turn his people over to her and let her overrun them as her ancestors did years ago when they brutalized the Southern Water Tribe and forced parts of their Fire Nation culture upon them. He opted to try to trust her.

She had learned quickly that there was no way he was backing down and he was a good deal more experienced than Kuei was in fending off an invasion force. Plus, one of his peoples' chief spirits was the Moon Spirit who had, four years ago, became his daughter after she sacrificed herself to save not only her people but the entire world. Azula, besides knowing that Arnook would not go down as easy as Kuei and the Earth Kingdom did, and not wishing to make the effort to take him and his people down, especially _now_ with the additional stress Loki and her father brought, also feels she owes a debt of some sort to his daughter-turned-moon-spirit, Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe. Yue is one of the few people Azula can find herself respecting.

Father always said that the first duty of a princess was to protect her people. The second duty was, essentially, to laugh as her enemies burned, but Azula had always preferred to focus on the first one.

A Princess' duty is to protect her people, her nation, her culture, no matter the cost. Princess Yue exemplified that duty, having given her life not only to protect her people, her nation, and her culture, but to protect everyone and everything that inhabited their world.

If the legends were true, Svahango had worked alongside Tui – the former Moon Spirit – and created beautiful, life-giving, fire-giving, water-giving storms in the night. Svahango respected Tui and Tui respected Svahango. Perhaps it would be wise if Azula made an effort to do the same for Yue. Azula couldn't see why it wouldn't be, unless she informed her father of such a thought. That would be unwise. Informing her father of much of anything tended to be unwise.

"I and my people would be honoured to assist in educating yourself and your student," Chief Arnook says, his low voice commanding attention from those around him.

Azula's presence does for her what Arnook's voice does for him. She nods, "We should begin with combat."

"That would be interesting," Arnook says. "What branch of our combat? Non-bending or waterbending?"

"Waterbending." Azula raises an eyebrow, "Do you have a waterbender in mind?"

"One of my tribe's best waterbenders. He traveled with me here and should be somewhere…" Arnook turns. His eyes alit upon spotting the dark hair and fair complexion of one of the youngest men in the room, "Ah, there he is."

Azula follows and Chief Arnook draws the young man's attention away from the Water Tribe woman he was speaking to. The young warrior straightens abruptly and then performs a quick bow upon seeing the Fire Lord and Earth Queen alongside his Chief. His rough blue-grey eyes hide a harsh intellect, and his complexion is barely a couple of shades darker than Azula's own. His hair, obsidian, is pulled back into a wolf-tail while a clump of hair hangs at the right side of his face and is collected in three blue beads. He is wearing blues and whites, and is decorated in various moon symbols. Around his scarred fingers are three rings, silver with blue detailing, and he lifts his goblet as he rises in greeting.

"Azula, this is one of my tribe's best warriors. His waterbending skills are praised highly amongst our tribe," Arnook explains, clapping a hand on the younger man's shoulder.

The young man smirks. Azula eyes him dubiously, taking in his scars, the two old waterskins at his waist – likely passed down father to son – and flicks her amber eyes back to his overcast ones, "How old are you?"

"Nineteen winters, Fire Lord. Or do I call you Earth Queen?" He beams in a way that would be charming to anyone else, "It is truly an honour to meet you."

"Fire Lord," Azula says, silently and suspiciously regarding his apparent liking of her. Being from the Northern Water Tribe, one would think that he would despise her, if only for her place of birth. Observing his every movement, she questions, "And your name is…?"

"I am Yakone."

* * *

**A/N: **Watch _Legend of Korra_ if you don't know who Yakone is. And yes I am adding in _Legend of Korra_. And the Cabbage Merchant's legacy. Because I can.

~ANSWERS FOR GUEST~

Regarding your question, Guest, about Aang, here is the conversation from chapter 4 between Aang, Piandao, and Zuko:

_Aang stares, "Uh…Master Piandao…what are…how can I help you? Afraid Sokka isn't here right now…I…"_

"_I watched you be incinerated," Piandao says as Aang trails off._

"_That was a kid Azula got," Zuko explains. "She said he was sick and agreed to do it because he 'was dying anyway'. Aang wasn't anywhere near there."_

Azula manipulated, specifically, her father into believing that the Avatar was truly dead. Her reasons for not actually killing Aang will be explained in future chapters (and is hinted at in previous chapters, and this one, albeit mostly vaguely, but I digress) so I won't give that away quite yet. The "Avatar" that was killed in the preamble was a decoy but because of how he was presented to the people – vaguely, with the word of the Phoenix King and Fire Lord as evidence, in addition to his tattoos – it would have been relatively easy to make people, who were still reeling after the conquering of the Earth Kingdom and Sozin's Comet, believe that the Avatar was really dead. The group mentality would help in that situation. Naturally, there would be groups who wouldn't believe in the Avatar's death and I'll probably mention those offhand in the future, but Azula really only wanted her father to believe that Aang was dead, therefore, to her, the opinions and beliefs of those groups who "believe in the Avatar" were merely secondary nuisances.

If you want more information, which will likely spoil future chapters therefore I don't want to publish it here in an A/N, please PM me or contact me via my tumblr (right-2-left . tumblr . com). Hope this helps!

~END ANSWERS FOR GUEST~

Apasdeva – February ('apas', vedic Sanskrit for water; 'deva', Hindu personification of water)

Tsuki – March ('tsuchi', Chinese for earth; 'ki', Japanese for earth)

Fenghuang – Phoenix in Mandarin Chinese (Thanks to Phoenix Falconer for this translation!)

**I always read your reviews, even if I don't always reply to them! I'm so happy you're enjoying this dark story so far!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Rating: M**

_Avatar: The Last Airbender, Legend of Korra, and The Avengers do not belong to me. I am merely mixing together the sandboxes._

**Warnings: AU; **_**[see Chapter Warnings]**_

**Synopsis: When your own flames burn you but you're too stubborn to fall, your only option is to walk through the flames. Or, in which Azula meets another second-born and throws her planet into the world of intergalactic war. Azula-centric. **

* * *

_**Chapter Warning(s): violence, discussion of sexism, coarse language, graphic domestic violence & child abuse, graphic burning of a person  
**_

* * *

**Second-Born**

"_One who is injured ought not to return the injury, for on no account can it be right to do an injustice; and it is not right to return an injury, or to do evil to any man, however much we have suffered from him."_

Socrates

**Chapter 6**

* * *

**The Hall of Fenghuang, The Palace of the Phoenix King "The Nest", Businiao City, Eastern Air Province, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Tsuki 29, 104 ASC – 20:13 EST**

Phoenix King Ozai downs the liquor in one fell swoop. Across the room, he stares at his daughter; his eyes following her movements as she interacts with the prodigal waterbender his spies had gotten information on four years ago.

It'll take more than pain of death or torture to get him to admit that perhaps these past three years have not been his greatest. It'll take something astronomical to get him to bow down. To admit his weakness in the past three years. To admit that he was slowly killing himself, slowly destroying himself from the inside-out as he slowly allowed his teenage daughter to take complete control of the world out from beneath his fingertips.

Ever since the Extra-Terrestrial Intruder arrived, or, more correctly, ever since his scepter arrived gleaming and glowing and pulsing with pure energy that Ozai would swear was the combined energy of Agni and Svahango themselves shining down upon him, fuelling him, invigorating him, Ozai's become more aware. More aware of his failure in assuring the Great Element, Mahābhūta, the world, that they were all lesser than him, that he was the Great, the Mighty, the Invincible, the Everlasting, and that no one could ever possibly hope to kill a fire. Fire would always rise up, again and again, stronger than before, ready to decimate that which attempted to destroy it. Fire was life. Fire was death. Fire was energy. Fire was everything and those that thought otherwise were simply fallen under the illusion that the Avatar had forced upon them.

Ozai knew that the Avatar hadn't always existed. He knew that there was a time when there were no people, only the energy of the Great Element, surging through tidal waves, mountains, hurricanes, and lightning.

Fire was the closest, still, to the Great Element. It had to be. Lightning was, after all, the purest representation of firebending and it was nothing but energy. The Great Element was, at its most basic, nothing but energy. Just as lightning was.

It was only logical then that firebenders such as himself had the Divine Right to Rule. They were the closest to the Great Element, spiritually. They were capable of unleashing an inferno just through breathing, just through expressing the fact that they lived.

It was idiocy to think otherwise.

So why then, Ozai had to consider, would his daughter – who had one of the purest examples of firebending he had ever seen and through such was directly connected to the divine, to Agni, to Svahango, to their energy – dare to interact with an earthbender such as Pearl, or a waterbender such as Yakone?

Did she know something he didn't?

Ridiculous. He had taught her everything she knew. He was the one who first taught her how to walk. He was the one who first taught her how to speak with diction befitting a princess and future ruler of the Fire Nation. He was the one who deliberately ignored his father, Fire Lord Azulon, when he said that Azula would not become Fire Lord and that he, Ozai, should not encourage her childhood fantasies, for she was, after all, just a princess, and the second-born daughter of his at that. She would never become Fire Lord.

Ozai had heard his father's protests against female soldiers. He knew his father's opinions on female leaders. But Ozai had also heard his mother tell her story of being one of the first female soldiers, of disguising herself as a man, of conquering an Earth Kingdom stronghold while revealing herself – in more than one meaning of the word – and then proceeding to humiliate Prince Azulon by breaking his nose and throwing him into a burning house when he tried to insult her for doing what she did, and as a woman at that. Their betrothal was blackmail but she named the stronghold she conquered the Isle of Ilah, after herself, not after Fire Lord Sozin, not after Prince Azulon. Sozin and Azulon didn't conquer it after all. She did and she wouldn't let anyone forget it. Her enemies certainly didn't. Their children still called her Ilah the Terrible.

Ozai knew that it was idiotic to keep women from being soldiers, to keep them from leading, (the fact that thinking as such merely encouraged his disdain for the Water Tribes and their archaic ideas about the capabilities of men and women was unintended but occurred nevertheless). He knew that it was idiotic to make inheritance pass from first-born to first-born, to value second-born children less, and to value daughters less. He knew all of that, he had experienced the lesser value of being a second-born child firsthand, and he knew that it wasn't right. He had witnessed the institutionalized sexism his mother faced despite the fact that she had always been more impressive a warrior, more impressive a bender, more impressive a politician, than her husband Azulon. Ozai hated it all, so he ignored his father when he said to stop encouraging Azula's fantasies about becoming Fire Lord, a War Hero. Then the instant he became Fire Lord, Ozai snapped down the blockades preventing women from advancing beyond the lowest levels in the military and, after some years, managed to change the inheritance rules. It was one of the few times that Ozai blatantly ignored his father's demands.

He was the one who first taught Azula how to firebend, how to fight. He was the one who observed how Ursa kept her nails as she did then used the knowledge to teach Azula because while they were a symbol of her status, as a female member of the nobility, of her femininity, they were also weapons and he wouldn't restrict his daughter's access to weapons, not with her talents. He was the one who taught her how to resist torture and manipulate her enemies in the process. He was the one who taught her how to use peoples' expectations of her to her advantage, to use her size, her sex, her age, to win. He was the one who actually knew what she liked, unlike certain people he could name, and among other things gave her a set of stiletto daggers for her tenth birthday, then the leadership of the deep-cover Fire Nation espionage group the Rough Rhinos for her thirteenth birthday, rather than a doll or two. _A doll, really?_

Yet she dared to ignore his most basic teachings and interact on an equal level with Pearl and Yakone, nevermind Arnook. She dared to ignore what he taught her about respect and the elite and lie to him then pretend that she didn't know what he was talking about. She dared to consider him below her and systematically take away his territory while he, shamefully, wallowed in his self-pity, self-hatred, and lost honour.

She had taken advantage of him, using his expectations of her as his loyal, subservient little girl to her advantage.

He was actually proud. She had managed to play him like a Tsungi horn.

However, he was still her father, her teacher. There were things about him that she didn't know. That no one, not even his brother, knew.

One couldn't become Phoenix King without secrets and one couldn't remain Phoenix King by being unaware.

Soon, everyone would realize that, including his daughter. There would be blood. And again, soon, all would fear him.

**21:12 EST**

:: Intruders at the West Entrance. They're going underground. :: a guard reports via the com-link.

Ozai would swear if he didn't know that doing so would damage his already teetering reputation.

He can spot across the room his daughter flicking her eyes to her Spymaster, Nezha. She knows.

* * *

**Beneath the West Entrance, ****The Palace of the Phoenix King "The Nest", Businiao City, Eastern Air Province, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Tsuki 29, 104 ASC – 21:14 EST**

Sokka Qilaq, son of the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, Warrior, Swordsmaster, and Meat-Lover, crouches, his blue eyes focused on the tunnel behind them as if waiting for the moment when an earthbender will explode from the new tunnel and attack. Leading the way is Toph of the Bei Fong family, The Blind Bandit, earthbending master, and Inventor of Metalbending. She's a little pissed off. Suki Mizushima, leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, Swordsmaster, Warrior, Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant who has a weakness for fruit pies, is in the middle, keeping her eyes both on the back and the front, her hands twitching to whip out her war fans and have a rematch with that circus freak Ty Lee.

Another team, mostly water-tribe warriors, led by Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe, is moving in through the top. They are supposed to be the distraction while Sokka, Toph, and Suki corner Azula and take her down. Then the interrogation could begin. They know that Aang is gone, they know that. But Katara might not be, same with Zuko, so they'll get Katara back, and Zuko. They will.

Toph stops abruptly. She frowns and reaches up, pressing her palm against the ceiling.

"What is it?" Sokka whispers, although, since they're underground there is no reason to whisper.

"There's some sort of party going on," Toph explains. "I don't think Azula's gonna be in her room."

"What would they be celebrating?" Suki hisses.

"Burning a village to the ground?" Sokka suggests bitterly.

"Doubt it. It's probably some sort of party to satisfy all the nobility who are investing in whatever Princess and Daddy are doing," Toph suggests. "My parents had them, to satisfy the other nobility that they were still nobles and rich themselves. Rich people are paranoid about staying rich."

"That is so weird," Suki comments.

Toph sighs, "They're playing nice; they won't be out for awhile."

"Ugh," Sokka groans. "She's gotta leave at some point, I mean, even pure evil people have to use the bathroom. Right?"

Suki sighs, "We'll be waiting here for hours then, if that party isn't going to let up."

"Oh no," Toph turns sharply, darting past Sokka and promptly slamming her hands against the wall behind him. Someone curses on the opposite side.

Sokka swears, "Oh come on!"

"We have to move! It's the Dai Li!" Toph shouts, slamming her hands to the side and creating a new tunnel.

Sokka grabs Suki's wrist, "Your pellets!"

Suki understand immediately, bypassing her handgun, katana, and war fans to grab a handful of smoke pellets as Sokka exclaims, "Toph, when I say, close it up behind us!"

"Got it!"

A Dai Li agent rounds the newly created corner and Suki tosses the smoke pellets at his feet. Sokka shouts, "Now!"

The tunnel closes behind them and in an instant they're surging forward, Toph creating the new tunnel as she sprints while behind them the Dai Li agents curse and swear as smoke fills their tunnel.

"What's the plan?" Toph shouts, curving the tunnel again.

"Once we reach a room without anyone in it, get us up there!" Sokka orders.

Toph nods, turns, then slams her hands out to the earth. It buckles and turns in on itself, creating a pathway up past the broken tiles into an empty room. She darts up, closely followed by Sokka and Suki who promptly move past her to secure the room. Toph closes the path behind them, caving in the tunnel, then stands amongst the broken tile, taking in the heavy desk, chairs, bookcases, and low table in the centre of the room through her feet.

"Think we lost them?" Suki asks.

"Doubt it," Toph says. "It isn't that hard to learn how to see with your feet and hands, I mean, when you're an earthbender and all."

Suki rolls her eyes.

"We've bought some time," Sokka says. He grabs his walkie-talkie as he moves to the heavy desk and begins opening drawers, "Wolftail here. Chief, we've been compromised. The Dai Li know we're here. Which means Azula knows we're here."

:: Change of plans then. We'll get you kids out and regroup then- ::

"No way, too dangerous, we're gonna be surrounded by Dai Li agents. We're in a room right now that…okay that's interesting." Sokka pauses the folder to Suki, "Plans for some sort of suit of armor, high-tech. Platinum."

:: Where are you? ::

"Think we're in the office of the Minister of Defense. This is crazy, we're never this lucky!"

"Only fools rely on luck," a woman states.

Toph reacts instantly. The tiles shatter as earth shoots up, intent on capturing Azula within it. Azula darts nimbly forward, flipping off the tiles and through the air, landing expertly on the desk. Yakone darts forward, water shooting from his waterskin and heading straight for Toph as Suki pulls out her fans and moves to backup Sokka.

Ty Lee appears from nowhere, no tin formalwear so her movement isn't restricted at all as she ducks, allowing Suki's fans to cross inches above her head. Ty Lee's hand shoots up, grabbing Suki's wrist and she twists, leaping up as Azula rolls under, her manicured hands snapping out to impact with Suki's legs. The Kyoshi Warrior's legs buckle beneath her and Ty Lee promptly presses the points in her upper body to keep her still.

Azula opts to dart forward and return to dealing with Sokka. His sword – he misses space sword – nearly collides with her wrist but she snaps up a fan stolen from Suki to block. She twists around him, kicking him in the back of his right knee then grabbing him by the shoulders as he buckles. Her arm wraps around his neck and then Ty Lee is cartwheeling to them. In the next instant he's lying on the floor, unable to move, and Azula is twirling his new sword in her talons.

Somehow, Yakone managed to dodge Toph's strikes and encase her feet and hands in twin blocks of ice. Azula makes a note to review the battle caught by the security cameras to see how he managed to beat "the greatest earthbender in the world" so quickly.

"Sokka…" Chief Arnook sighs, walking across the room to reach Sokka. "I'm sorry."

Sokka stares at the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe, his eyes wide, unable to express his surprise, fear, dread, and confusion at Chief Arnook being here but not being visibly harmed or coerced or anything and in fact – what is going on why is he – he's standing and nodding to Azula to pure evil to the monster that took his little sister and nothing makes sense. Nothing makes sense.

"Don't worry, it'll be alright," the Circus Freak assures Sokka.

"Ty Lee, you have a job to do," Azula interrupts.

Ty Lee – the Circus Freak – nods brightly then darts out of the room.

The waterbender Sokka is certain he saw at the Northern Water Tribe during the invasion – why is he here what is going on – strides forward, away from where Toph is lying with her hands and feet frozen, unable to move. She can't see, Sokka realizes, and the churning in the pit of his stomach grows worse. Toph can't see on ice, and she won't be able to see when her bending is blocked either. She must be – no. No don't.

_Why is a waterbender...a warrior of the Northern Water Tribe with Azula?_

"Take them away," Azula orders. The Dai Li move quickly, gathering up and restraining the temporarily paralyzed teenagers.

Azula strides out of the office, her glare capable of levelling entire cities.

She splits off from the others and heads the same direction Ty Lee went. She puts a hand to her com-link and questions, "Freakshow, what have you got?"

:: They found it. :: Ty Lee explains, returning to the room she had been in when the request for her assistance had been broadcasted. :: One of the firebenders is going to try bending that energy. ::

"Just get it secured."

:: Got it. ::

Azula turns down the end of the corridor in the opposite direction of Ty Lee. In a matter of moments she re-enters the Hall of Fenghuang with a confident smile that promptly reassures the guests that her sudden departure was nothing to be concerned for. As expected, Ozai is watching her from his position against the edge of the crowd, and Chief Arnook seeks her out almost immediately.

"What are you going to do?" Arnook questions.

"You're taking him with you. You deal with him. Make him one of your warriors. I'll deal with the girls."

"You're willing to let me-"

"Tell him about our agreement. He can decide for himself if he is going to stay or not. Ensure that he is aware of the consequences for both though."

"You're playing with a family that loves one another very much, you know."

Azula raises an eyebrow at him, "And how is this any different from anything else you've seen me do, Chief?"

Chief Arnook lets his expression fall into one of resolute acceptance of duty. He knows that she knows that this is different. He also knows that this is a precarious situation for her, for whatever reason. Her attitude today says that completely. He wore that same attitude many times during the war.

"You are a fool and an idiot," Loki hisses abruptly, grabbing Azula by the arm harshly. She spins sharply, her mouth opening and ready to hiss back at him. He growls, "Did you really think that you could do your investigation without me noticing?"

"It's worked thus far," she retorts lowly.

"Your idiot firebenders are going to-"

_SCREEEE!_

Azula and a few others in the room shout and gasp, promptly ripping out their com-links and throwing them to the ground. The crowd in the Hall slowly quiets, every single person turning toward the door she had just entered through as a soft roaring noise begins to grow louder and louder and louder.

"You fool," Loki hisses.

Blue light shatters the door and roars into the room, engulfing everything.

Someone screams.

The light and energy shoots through the walls and floor, ripping through the ceiling like cardboard. Instinctively, Azula surrounds herself in fire as Pearl snaps up rock walls, Loki pops out of the way, and Yakone brings up ice barriers. Ozai just turns, his eyes widening as the light engulfs him and sends a shattering boom through the palace.

Flames engulf the entire western side of the palace.

Azula can feel every single one of them. She pushes herself to her feet, reaching out with her energy to grab the fires and connect them to her. The flickering orange and red light shifts to an underwater blue.

She hears Loki shouting something furiously.

Azula ignores him, instead watching as in the remnants of the hallway Ty Lee rises in the distance, shaking her head and staggering over to the ash remains of a firebender. She grabs the scepter, its stone pulsing blue, and stares at it, her eyes wide. She looks up, her jaw dropping at the decimated corridor and rooms. Azula gestures sharply and Ty Lee turns, darting quickly down the corridor and out of view, the scepter grasped tightly in her hands.

What had happened? What did they do to the scepter?

Loki's fingers dig into her shoulder as he hisses, "Do you have any idea what you just did?"

Suddenly, the scepter flies down the corridor and into Loki's abruptly outstretched hand. He shouts, slipping into a foreign language as he uses his free hand to grab her by the collar.

She looks past him to the far wall where her father is hunched over, wreathed in cerulean energy. Slowly, Loki's grasp on her retreats and she moves past him, staring, as Ozai rises, the flames nearest him escaping her control and gathering at his feet. Her eyes widen as the flames grow and he lifts his head. He inhales, and the waist-high flames shrink. He exhales, and the waist-high flames grow.

She breathes, blue flames whispering from her lips, "Father…"

A low laugh builds in his belly, rising up his chest and throat until it turns into a guffaw released from his mouth. He throws his head back, laughing, fireballs spawning in his palms and sparks shooting from his nostrils.

_Spirits._

"Remove the wounded," Ozai orders, ignoring the fact that most of his clothing is, like the rest of the people in the room, destroyed. "Get the guests to their quarters." He twists his hands, extinguishing the flames, and walks over the debris, pausing in front of Azula who sharply bows her head. He looks past her to Loki and nods to the scepter, "Such a unique instrument."

"And not, I think, meant for you," Loki retorts.

"You think," Ozai repeats as others rush about him.

"The guests," Azula says, her head still bowed, her hands pressed against her thighs tight enough to keep them from shaking.

"Do not attempt to order me, Azula," Ozai snaps. He grabs her chin and forces her head up. He releases her chin and takes a step back, looking regretful, "You have failed me. You pretend to be a Fire Lord the Fire Nation deserves, but you are barely qualified to be Earth Queen and reign over those pathetic, filthy people."

The representatives from the Earth Kingdom pulling themselves to their feet, their hands pressed against their wounds, pause to glare at the back of the Phoenix King.

"I meant no disrespect, Father," says Azula. "I only reign to serve you."

He grabs her shoulder as she moves to bow. She freezes as his grip on her shoulder tightens, "Yet you have lied to me. You lied to me about the knowledge of your informants and the source of your knowledge. You lied to me about defeating the Avatar in Ba Sing Se all those years ago. You said that Zuko killed him. He didn't. You were the one who shot the Avatar. You were the one who failed. And then you dared to lie to me. You have set your own spies on me. You have disrespected me grossly and just as I would not stand for it when your brother disrespected me, I will not stand for it when you do the same."

All the colour drains from Azula's face and she exclaims sharply, "I am not Zuko! You cannot treat me – ah!"

He flings her to the side. She catches herself on her hands and rolls onto her knees, staring up at her father in alarm. Her mind refuses to stop racing.

"On your knees!" Ozai roars, fire erupting from his mouth. "Follow the example of your Fire Lord and Earth Queen and kneel!"

Slowly, warily, the others in the room kneel. All but Loki. He stares at the firebender with a frown.

"You believe yourself to be above me? I am the true Phoenix King. I will always be reborn better than ever before, and you dare to think yourself above me?" Ozai hisses, striding towards Loki.

"I am a God."

Ozai spits, "You are no more than a failed boy-King attempting to play the game of conquerors."

Loki narrows his eyes.

"Kneel."

Loki doesn't move.

Ozai advances, drawing his hands back and engulfing them in flames, "You are merely a piece in this game and now, you will be taken off the board until you learn respect through suffering, as all should."

His flames slam toward Loki.

Azula's mind projects a scream of a boy and the scent of burned flesh and desperation fuelled by a survival instinct. Unintentionally, the scream and scent find their way into Loki's mind. His eyes widen at the memory.

"Father!" Cobalt flames split between Loki and Ozai, capturing Ozai's flames. Both men turn to find Azula hurriedly prostrating herself before her father, her forehead against the debris-stricken ground, her forearms pressing into the dirt. She speaks softly over the sobbing of a man trying to get his son to breathe again, "His terms for giving us information on other, unconquered worlds waiting for a supreme ruler are clear. He is not to be harmed."

Ozai glances at Loki then sharply wraps his hand around the golden scepter, "Give it to me and I won't incinerate you."

A moment passes, Loki and Ozai engaged in a battle of wills.

Ozai breaks it, impatient for a moment, releasing the scepter and turning towards his daughter, "Tell me, daughter, do you claim to respect me?"

"Of course, Father, my King."

"Your mother was right," says Ozai. He grabs her by the hair with his left hand, lifting her head up to face him harshly, "You do always lie."

Ochre flames engulf his right hand. His hand and reaching fingers advance.

Azula hesitates, a hesitation borne from years of manipulation to survive and an instinctive impulse to trust her father and go to him for protection. At the last second, as the flames heat up her cheek, her hands fly up, battling her instinctive impulse to trust the man she called Father.

She's too late.

Her father's flaming hand collides with her left eye, incinerating her eyebrow and lashes, obliterating the flesh covering her cheek, and his fingers wrap around her ear in a burning embrace.

"_EAAAGHHHH!"_

The scream vanishes quickly and her long nails pierce the flesh on her palms, causing rivers of blood to make tracks down her fingers.

Her father releases her hair and steps away from her, watching with a superior and irritated expression as she falls and barely manages to catch herself on her fists. She's shaking. Smoke is still rising from her hair. Angry red, black, and pink mangled flesh is where her ear and cheek used to be. The entire front half of her left eyeball is visible and embers of red and orange litter her flesh, stretching from an inch above her eyebrow, across her cheek and ear, and down to the left side of her neck where the burn is less intense, merely mottled a startling pink. She exhales, and the embers turn blue and white. Swiftly, the embers die.

Tears are ripping down her right cheek but she clenches that eye shut and pushes herself back onto her knees. She uncurls her hands, having to pull her nails free from her palms to let the crescents come away streaked in blood, and looks up at her father.

Her mouth opens, as if to say something, but nothing comes out beyond a barely-perceptible whimper that makes her instantly freeze.

Ozai strides past her, his knee bumping against her side. Seemingly effortlessly, he grabs the scepter from Loki's grip, simultaneously making him fall to his knees.

Azula stares straight ahead. Unmoving. Unblinking.

The father sobbing for his son holds his son's body as he watches, wide-eyed, the father ignoring his daughter.

Ozai leaves the rubble behind him, barking orders as he carries the scepter with the pulsing gem. Sixty seconds pass. Seventy-eight. Ninety.

Everyone having not been called by Ozai is unmoving, staring at the kneeling Fire Lord and Earth Queen. But their murmurs reach her unscathed ear.

"_What was…"_

"_How…"_

"_Oh Spirits."_

"…_get out. We need…"_

"_His own…"_

"_Should help-"_

"_Nononononono…"_

"_Don't die on me, don't, please."_

Abruptly, the Fire Lord and Earth Queen rises. Every step has to be agony but she strides quickly and confidently through the crowd, heat radiating from her every pore preventing anyone from getting closer to her than one meter. Loki straightens, suddenly realizing that he actually froze, but he feels more relaxed than before, when he had the scepter, before he permitted Ozai to take it.

It would surely make a fun show, watching Ozai try to control that power.

"Get Kao, and retrieve Ty Lee," Azula orders, her voice hoarse and no louder than a whisper. She stumbles and nearly hits the ground. Two people catch her. She shrieks, "Unhand me!"

They hastily do so and she stumbles as she straightens up, flames flickering off her hands.

Her eyes narrow, the frightening effect only enhanced by her mutilated face and her rasping voice, "Do not touch me again."

The man that had caught her looks startled, "Your majesty, you are-"

"Silence."

He shuts his mouth.

_Not Zuko. Not Zuko. Not Zuko. Not Zuko._

_You can't treat me like this!_

"I'm a healer," Yakone's voice breaks through her mental screams. He's standing in front of her with not entirely genuine concern creasing his face while he holds his water-covered hands out in front of him. They're glowing blue. "I can help."

_A healer…a healer…a healer._

Her face is hurt, not her mind, so the synapses fire as Azula stares at Yakone. Her thoughts are coherent as she pushes the pain away. They come to her in sharp blasts.

Burned publicly. In front of high-profile people. Chief. Bureaucratic Administrator. Neither under Phoenix King's complete control. Insulted Earth Kingdom. Civilians. Witnesses. Those stories. _Those stories. _Heroes. Distress. That stupid complex. Victims. The Villain. The Hero. The Damsel.

Possibilities are present. Gain allies. Soldiers. Svahango and Tui-turned-Yue. The Greatest Earthbender in the World. _"…a small elite team."_

Her voice is hoarse, "No." She pauses, synapses firing because she needs an advantage and this is the time to get it, she knows that. She holds her hand up to Yakone, "Thank you though."

_You can't treat me like this! You can't treat me like Zuko!_

She walks past him, knives shooting up her body, "Pearl."

"Of course," Pearl bows sharply then turns and begins barking orders to get the people out of there, to get them medical attention, to get the western side of the palace rebuilt.

_Monstermonstermonster. NotlikeZukonotlikeZukonotlik eZuko._

Azula turns the corner, out of the view of the others, and finds herself staring at Ty Lee – circusfreakcircusfreakcircus freakthefreakshow. She takes in the chi-blocker's cheeks, stained with tears, then falls forward with darkness shading her vision.

Everything hurts.

The Fire Lord and Earth Queen wakes with bandages covering half her face. She rips them off and watches as they burn in the flames of rainbows. She ignores the pain ripping through her body.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Ty Lee questions, opting to ignore the rainbow flames she had never before seen.

Azula climbs out of bed and promptly downs the glass of water beside it. Her voice quiet and hoarse, she answers, "I can handle pain."

Ty Lee stares down at her hands, still recovering from when she tried to pull the firebender away from the scepter, "I'm sorry it hurts a lot."

"Has my father come by?"

"No. It has only been a few hours. You are recovering very quickly."

A moment, then, Azula spits, "I look like Zuko, don't I?"

"No," Ty Lee says, looking up and ignoring the scars canvassing her own hands. "You still look like Azula, the most beautiful, smartest…heh…bestest girl in the world."

Azula doesn't turn to look in the mirror at her reflection for confirmation. She nods, "Of course I do."

Ty Lee fingers the hem of her tunic and questions anxiously, "Azula…um…what do you want me to do?"

"I need…need…"

"What?"

"I need a small, elite team."

"Like us and Mai? Is Mai coming back? Do I get to see her aga-"

"No. Mai is staying where she is. The team will be a symbol. A _legend. _A legend of prodigal accomplishments in the face of centuries of hatred," Azula exhales heavily. She closes her good eye and inhales, "For now, get me in a meeting with that blind earthbender, Toph Bei Fong."

"Why?"

"We are going to take advantage of a unique opportunity."

Ty Lee nods. She swallows, "Azula?"

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

Azula leans heavily on the wall, silent. Ty Lee rises and leaves, knowing better than to pry, and knowing even better when Azula needs her time alone.

* * *

**The Quarters of the Phoenix King, ****The Palace of the Phoenix King "The Nest", Businiao City, Eastern Air Province, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Tsuki 30, 104 ASC – 02:46 EST**

In his chambers, Ozai collapses. His knees crack against the tiles of his quarters and the scepter held tightly in his fingers tingles and burns. Cerulean light surrounds him, bathing him, invigorating him, but he still cannot rise.

In the innermost depths of his mind, where his mother screams and his father taunts _'They'll never believe you, boy' _a voice, unfamiliar, rips to his core, causing his bones to tremble and his breath to turn to flames, _:: You were not the one the scepter was granted to. ::_

Smirking superiorly, Ozai retorts, "Perhaps you should rethink to whom you give such a powerful object to when it is proven to be taken easily out of the fingers of the one you granted it to."

_:: You will burn. ::_

Ozai's smirk grows, but he doesn't intone with the fires of a thousand ancestors. To do so would be to reveal his advantage and he is far too good a commander to do such a thing.

It is The Voice's own fault that He does not know Ozai Tonatiuh.

Ozai commands fire. It will never burn him.

Still, fear settles in the pit of his belly. Fear for the Monster his instincts tell him is one of the few creatures in the universe capable of challenging his daughter and himself.

The only other person that Ozai knows had the capability to do that was the twelve-year-old physical embodiment of the planet. The same child who beat him. The same child his daughter took out with a single shot.

Ozai glares at nothing in particular. The scepter clatters to the floor. He stares at it for a long moment, well aware of the fact that he has options (you know she can do it, you know she's better at–you know that you will never–)...well aware of the fact that he wishes to utilize none of them.

He'll let the flames come. Then, he'll use their power against The Enemy. And The Enemy will scream as His flesh peels off His bones.

Then, Ozai will smile.

**03:12 EST**

Loki strides away from the Phoenix King's quarters, the magic he used to help amplify his senses and get the man's emotions before him – fear, anger, dread, arrogance, _more_ fear – vanishing. His movements, quick and sharp, pause at the turn that would lead him to the corridor where Fire Lord and Earth Queen Azula has her quarters.

"Sir," one of the Imperial Firebenders says, striding towards him and nodding respectfully, "the Fire Lord requests your presence."

Loki follows the Imperial Firebender into Azula's quarters. She's sitting at her desk in casual finery, her left eye, cheek, and brow covered in bandages. Her right eye flicks to him and she says calmly, "Tell me everything."

Her voice is hoarse but no less imposing to peasants as it usually is.

Loki is no peasant.

"What could I possibly gain from telling you anything?" he challenges.

"Control. Honour. Power." She rises, "Respect for your intelligence and silver-tongue."

"You know nothing of me."

"I know that you were disrespected. I know that your relationship with your father is less than ideal. I know that you were a failed king, but the only reason I can find as to why you were a failed king is that, at the time, you did not wish to be a king. Otherwise, you have the ability. You were trying to prove something, gain respect in a society that valued brawns over brains, size over finesse."

He watches as she moves forward, not giving away the fact that she must be in pain. Not giving away any hint of fear, and, in fact, no matter how hard he searches for her fear he cannot find it. She does not fear the scepter. She does not fear him. She only fears her father, but her fear for him is overshadowed now by her anger and raw determination.

"I can offer you something that no one in your entire life has been able to offer you," she says, looking up at him but somehow managing to make the foot of height between them seem nonexistent. "I can offer you the chance to be respected, to be free of ridicule and soulless mocking. But I can only do that if you talk to me."

Not fear. Not dread. Not arrogance. Just anger. Just determination. Just confidence well-deserved. Strength backed up by intelligence. He thought she was, while possessing qualities of himself, more like Thor regardless. She had the same lightning, the same status in her father's eyes, the same following. She isn't Thor though. She doesn't declare her attacks. She doesn't charge in blind to the consequences. She isn't softened by affection from friends. She likes theatricality but the theatricality has more than the bare bones to it, it has flesh, and muscle, and blood, and weaponry, and a thousand other theatres behind it ready to stand tall and advance if the theatre before it is destroyed.

He grasps her right hand and bends over, pressing his lips to the back of her scarred, pale, manicured hand. He rises, expecting her to be startled by the uncommon gesture, but she just watches him. If she is startled, she hides it well. In another lifetime, he ponders, he may have been impressed.

"It is a complicated tale," he says, straightening up, "and not a pleasant one."

"Unpleasant is my specialty," she states.

"I endured agonies you would not survive an instant of."

"You do not know me very well."

"You are the _worshipped_ child," he snaps.

"Worshipped by the man who just burned half of my face off," she retorts, gesturing to the mass of bandages. "Stop stalling."

For a moment, he doesn't speak, although he makes a silent note of the fact that she becomes impatient when in pain.

She returns to her desk chair and gestures for him to take a seat in the more comfortable plush chair. He does so and leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees.

"You are correct in that I was a king…"

* * *

**A/N: **I am so sorry I haven't updated in a month. RL came out of nowhere and basically kicked me into the middle of the freeway. It wasn't fun. But, I am back, and I have my sanity intact so I'm counting that as a win. Ozai is also back, but, unlike myself, he is powerful and displeased. Gird your loins.

Check out my oneshot _The Merciless and the Unstoppable, Ilah_ if you want to know more about my headcanon for Fire Lady Ilah.

I had most of this chapter's events planned from the beginning so I'm beyond happy that I've finally reached them. :D But I'm sorry Azula, I'm sorry, this was going to happen and it did, you can kill me later. Loki though...Loki what are you even doing? Stop plotting for like...one second. Please.

Nezha – Taoist protection deity

Mizushima – from 'mizu' meaning 'water' and 'shima' meaning 'island'

**Thanks for the reviews, favourites, and follows!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Rating: M**

_Avatar: The Last Airbender, Legend of Korra, and The Avengers do not belong to me. I am merely mixing together the sandboxes._

**Warnings: AU; **_**[see Chapter Warnings]**_

**Synopsis: When your own flames burn you but you're too stubborn to fall, your only option is to walk through the flames. Or, in which Azula meets another second-born and throws her planet into the world of intergalactic war. Azula-centric. **

* * *

_**Chapter Warning(s): mentions of torture; domestic & child abuse**_

* * *

**Second-Born**

"_I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you."_

Friedrich Nietzsche

**Chapter 7**

* * *

_They called me, when I was born, a God of Fire, Truth, and Justice._

_I grew into the name of Loki the Silver-Tongued for my talent with words, and the title of God of Mischief and Lies for…obvious reasons. I remained the God of Fire, of course._

_Do cease giving me that look. Yes, I am a God of Fire._

_I was born a Prince. _

_A Prince of Asgard, or so I thought. I learned later that was all a lie._

_I was raised as an Asgardian, but always an outsider. _

_The man I thought was my father, Odin Allfather, King of Asgard, always saw me as lesser when compared to Thor. The elder son, the stronger son, the true Prince of Asgard, he was the Golden Child, a warrior unmatched – if only in his mind._

_Everyone worshipped Thor. The Mighty One. The Favoured One. The Prodigal Warrior. The Uncontested._

_He was arrogant though. Arrogant and brash. He never thought things through. I always saved him when his brashness resulted in battles he could not handle. My silver-tongue was weak to them though. A lesser power along with my mastery of sorcery when compared to that of Thor's brute strength._

_Sorcery and conversation were always the lesser powers, even when used by Frigga, whom I thought was my mother. This was especially so when it was suggested that the monsters our parents told us about at night – the Frost Giants, the J__ötunn__ – used sorcery to unleash their terror upon mortals and Asgardians._

_Yes, mortals. Not you little people, but those of Midgard, those unable to manipulate flames or water or earth or air to their will. Nevertheless, if the Frost Giants were to come here they would raze you and your people in an assault of frost and ice. They would reach their talons across this realm and cover it in an everlasting blizzard. You would be helpless._

_Salvation would come with the Asgardians, if they deemed you mortals under their – our – protection, they would drive the Frost Giants from your realm with their golden weapons and vast warriors. The Frost Giants would buckle under the Asgardian assault and the Asgardians would be worshipped by the mortals as their saviours, as their __**Gods**__._

_Midgardians are soft and weak. But it is the duty of Asgardians to protect them, even from themselves._

_There was an attack on Asgard by a small group of Frost Giants during a celebration honouring Thor as the official heir to the Throne of Asgard. Thor demanded to go to their realm and seek vengeance, for not only had the Frost Giants invaded Asgard but they had killed two Asgardians. In the process, they themselves had perished as well and Odin believed that was recompense enough. Thor, unsatisfied, led his warrior friends to Jötunheimr. I accompanied them, having planned ahead to have Odin arrive before we reached the Bifrost to travel between realms, from Asgard to Jötunheimr. Odin would stop Thor on the fool's mission then. Even the Warriors Three knew that the mission Thor proposed was folly. Six of us against all the Frost Giants? It was unfeasible._

_Odin failed to show to stop Thor. The guard I sent to warn him should have been flogged for incompetence._

_We landed in Jötunheimr and, as expected, things went badly. I was touched by a Frost Giant and where a burn should have appeared, rife with dead skin, there was nothing but blue. Blue as cold as the blue of a Frost Giant's flesh. There was little I could about that…__**surprise**__ then though. Thor nearly threw Asgard into war and as punishment Odin stripped Thor of his power and banished him to Midgard until he had learnt some…some lesson._

_I discovered that I was not born a Prince of Asgard. I may have been born a Prince, but not one of Asgard._

_I was stolen from my birthplace, the home of the Frost Giants, Jötunheimr, where I was born small for a J__ötunn__. Where I was born as the son of the King, Laufey._

_I was not born a Prince of Asgard. I was born a Prince of Jötunheimr._

_**Prince **__of a race that ravaged lands with their cold hands, a race of barbarians, of monsters you were told to hide from as a child of Asgard. They would destroy you, freeze your veins, turn your skin to ice, burn your flesh with no more than a touch. Monsters, all of them._

_Odin took me from that cold, desolate place, a relic, a souvenir of a war to be used to bring peace between Asgard and Jötunheimr. Presumably, by placing me on the throne of Jötunheimr as a puppet king._

_That was why I was never the favoured son. Why I was mocked and ridiculed. Why all save for Frigga saw Thor as the Golden Child and myself as the Outsider. The Other One. I was not even of Asgard! I was never his son, I was never Frigga's son no matter her claims to the contrary, I was never meant to get even close to being King of Asgard. I was only supposed to be the creature Odin called a monster and then reign over the very same creatures he declared monsters and barbarians and terrors._

_There was an obvious solution to this problem. Destroy the monsters._

_Of course I was not a monster, as Odin claimed, being a prolific liar. I was Asgardian, even if my bones were not. But I would destroy the rest of them. I would do so as I acted as King of Asgard, during Thor's banishment and Odin's entry into the Odinsleep._

_...The Odinsleep is necessary to replenish his energy and that of Asgard._

_I was King and I would have succeeded in removing the problem of the Frost Giants completely, were it not for Thor returning at the last minute and sympathizing with the Frost Giants. __**Pitying **__the monsters._

_The Bifrost shattered. The main connection between Asgard and the other realms broke. I fell then. Past Thor's shadow and into an abyss._

_There was a voice there. Power._

_I took it, and was punished dearly for it._

_Death a thousand times. Needles through my flesh as if I were nothing more than an animal skin. Hammers - hammers like Thor's – pounded against my bones. Pain was something to long for. Pain would have been welcomed because that, __**that**__, was not pain. That was death. Death and rebirth by ripping through your own flesh and bones. Flesh and bones still living. Still thriving. Ripped and torn to pieces. Obliterated. And by who else but yourself? Over and over and over._

_It was impossible to break his will. So I bent. I agreed to do Thanos' bidding. To be his loyal warrior. I would bide my time to do what Thor could not. To bring Asgard back to peacetime, to protect Midgard again, better, because Thor decided he would protect it but he never did. He couldn't even protect the mortals from each other. They still slaughtered one another like animals. And now he isn't even searching for the backdoors to the other realms to try and return to Midgard, to take back his position as Protector._

_I developed a plan involving the device that powers my scepter, the Tesseract. It is a piece of pure energy that can make doors between the realms. Doors that operate quieter than the Bifrost did, and with more flexibility._

_The Midgardians are attempting to use the Tesseract now and are giving me an opening to show them who they must kneel to for their own good. They need a ruler stronger than themselves. That is the only way to restore order to that place._

_Thanos…he wants Asgard. If I get Midgard, I will get a path, however convoluted, to Asgard._

_Now however, it seems Thanos has taken an interest in this, your, realm, pushing my plan's execution further into the future completely unnecessarily._

_He has not told me whether he wants to destroy this realm or rule it, and I have no preference._

_You are aware of that though, are you not?_

::

**The Quarters of the Fire Lord and Earth Queen, ****The Palace of the Phoenix King "The Nest", Businiao City, Eastern Air Province, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Tsuki 30, 104 ASC – 04:07 EST**

Azula is beginning to hate Asgardians.

As if ruling this place wasn't difficult enough – it was enjoyable, certainly but ruling it wasn't exactly easy. It was a challenge, and she liked challenges, but she did not want to deal with Asgardians or Thanos or any of their armies attempting to take over or destroy _her_ world.

She is tempted to just stand, walk over to Loki, and slap him across the face. He cannot seriously think that the fact that he had a bad relationship with his father, that his father lied to him, was justification enough for trying to _manipulate her_ on the orders of some other idiot named "Thanos." That happened to plenty of people. _Her_ father did the same thing as his. He used her, tried to manipulate her, and Azula would be genuinely surprised if he hadn't lied to her at some point or another. At least Loki had a mother who seemed to actually gave a damn about whether he lived or died, who didn't call him a monster, who didn't fear him, who claimed to love him but didn't actually do anything to prove it.

Big deal. So he hated his brother because he was favoured by their father. She hated Zuko because he was favoured by their mother. Zuko hated her because she was favoured by their father. They could still work together. Zuko would follow her orders, at least, well aware that she held all of the strings. It was as close to working together as they would ever get, Azula figured.

So he had a bad relationship with his father. Her father had burned off half of her face and tried to obliterate one of her greatest victories, the entire Earth Kingdom, and do so without her which was just as insulting if not more. Their father had burned off half of Zuko's face then tried to kill him with lightning.

So Loki did not think that his not-entirely-bad relationship with his mother was valuable just because he wasn't related to her. Big deal. Her mother called her a monster, her mother hated her.

Loki was using the same excuses Zuko used, and with the addition of his mother. It was infuriating.

Azula wasn't complaining. She wasn't using her terrible relationships as justification for anything she did that wasn't directly related to them. She was using logic. She was using the survival of the Great Element as justification for what she was doing – which reminded her, she needed to get to the Northern Water Tribe's Spirit Oasis and try to contact Yue or La, just…she needed to do that. Svahango would have done that, surely.

Azula wasn't whining and crying about how terrible her familial relationships were. Yes, they were terrible, yes, her friends had betrayed her, and yes they had come back when she needed them to, but they had still betrayed her, and yes, the betrayal and the terrible family hurt, and she rather doubted she would ever trust them implicitly – apparently that was important – but she wasn't about to let that run her down. Not again. It had happened before and she nearly wound up defeated by a waterbending peasant of all people. She had, what, two formal lessons in waterbending? The prodigal waterbender had nearly defeated her, despite Azula having years more training. That wouldn't happen again. She wouldn't let past wounds get the better of her again.

But Loki was. Just like Zuko had. No matter how much he argued he had no choice because the apparently "Impossible to Break" Thanos was ordering him around it was obvious to Azula that Loki was still trying to prove everyone wrong, was still trying to prove that he was a "true" Asgardian – whatever that was – deserving of worship and not a monster – even though, idiot, there was clearly more than one type of monster if both herself and Loki could exist in the same room without either one dying immediately.

Frustratingly enough, she still needed Loki to see her as an ally. If he didn't see her as one, she knew, he would just turn his lack of a preference into a preference for one of the two options he had just presented, and she didn't particularly like either option, destroying her world or ruling it. She much preferred the unmentioned third option. Completely and utterly obliterating Thanos until the very thought of her name – _Azula _– sent him trembling.

Even more infuriating than the fact that she still needed Loki to see her as an ally was the confident assumption that he did not tell her everything that occurred to him. Obviously he had been upon Midgard if he knew of the Midgardians attempting to work on the Tesseract, but he failed to mention any experiences upon Midgard. As if that information was somehow not valuable. Privately, Azula thought that he did not tell her of those experiences because they revealed something he considered a weakness of his. Suffice to say, she wanted to know of his Midgard experiences.

All of that runs through her mind within a matter of seconds. With those thoughts in mind, she makes her gaze soften. She softens her entire posture, making herself seem more open, more like Ty Lee in the sense that she wanted to make things feel better, make them _right_.

Azula leans forward, "Your feelings are valid, Loki. Your father did some terrible things, using you as he did, favouring Thor over you." She pauses, partly because she wants to vomit because this is _far too close to home_, this is _far too close to what Zuzu was like_, and partly because her eye is screaming at her in complete agony and she just wants it to _stop_, "But, Odin is not here right now. Nor is Thor. Your intelligence, your skills with those daggers, your aptitude for deceit and persuasion is valued here. People here know how important thinking before acting is, which is exactly what you do. And, frankly, we really don't care if you're a Frost Giant, seeing as we have never had them as allies or enemies. As long as you can do what you say you can I could care less where you come from or who your parents are."

She tries to communicate through her eyes the concept of him being welcomed

She doesn't pull her gaze from him, "I have to know, Loki, once you get the Tesseract from Midgard are you going to give it to Thanos or are you going to give it to Asgard, to your people, and lead them to a victory that will be sung about in stories for centuries after?"

He looks at her, frowning, "Asgard will never follow me. By now, the Allfather has turned them against me."

"You said you were Loki the Silver-Tongued, the God of Fire, Truth and Justice when you were born who turned into the God of Fire, Mischief and Lies. Why don't you live up to your names?"

"Odin has experience in seeing through my lies."

Azula leans forward on her arms, "Not those names. Tell Odin the truth. That you suffered unimaginably in your quest to retrieve the Tesseract. That you gave your blood, your energy, in the plot to have the Tesseract in your hands. If he has any decency left in him, if he recalls the boy that you once were and imagines him suffering, he will soften. Then, you work on him, you work on Thor, you work on every individual in power and you show them exactly what you are capable of doing. You are perfectly capable of ruling an entire realm, Loki. Or ruling Jötunheimr or Asgard or Midgard, whichever you choose," she pauses, considering that sentence, then adds, "although if you choose this realm I will not hesitate to burn you alive, God of Fire or not." She smirks, "You are thinking very small here, Loki. You could either merely attempt to rule Midgard, rule over a people you are undoubtedly superior to and educate them in how to coexist peacefully, or you could rule over Midgard, send Thanos to his grave, _and_ prove to Odin and Thor and Frigga, to _everyone_ no matter what realm they are from, exactly how _worthy_ how _great_ you are. I can see the greatness in your eyes, _God-King_. You were meant to be greater than all of them."

Loki considers that, "You are correct in that I was born to rule," he raises his eyebrows, "And that would be an attractive proposition, working with you, were it not for the fact that you undoubtedly have something you want from me."

She straightens up, recognizing immediately that he knows she isn't someone who needs help, much less asks for it. The damsel card may work on the others she uses it on, people who don't know her as well, but it won't work on Loki. He knows her too well. He knows she has backups for her backups and she simply does not ask for help. And especially not from him, the apparent enemy. If it were Ty Lee playing the damsel card against him though, it would work. He underestimates Ty Lee, both in her intelligence and her skills, far too much for her to be anyone _but _The Damsel to him. Ty Lee would pull off getting Loki on her side, to "pity" her or "protect" her or even torture her, much easily. Azula doesn't have such a luxury and frankly, she's rather glad. She hates using the damsel card. It goes against every fibre of her being. Which is, in this case, exactly why she cannot use it. Loki knows those fibres.

Her voice grows hard, "No one gets to threaten my world and attempt to even consider conquering it without suffering through me being fully unleashed upon them. I want to defeat Thanos, and to do that I need to know everything you know about him, the Tesseract, and that scepter."

"Has anyone even attempted to try and conquer this world without your permission?" Loki challenges with a wry look.

"There is a first time for everything."

Loki leans forward, "You are proposing that we work together to defeat Thanos, and in the process assure myself rule over Midgard and you rule over this realm."

"If you cannot grasp that simple concept then I am burning this proposal and dumping you back where we fished you out of the water."

Loki scoffs. As if she could do that.

He steeples his fingers and rests his chin atop them, "You realize that to do this you will have to trust me to tell you the truth, correct? Most would not risk such a thing."

She leans forward, "I am not most. I will trust you, Loki. And that is not something you should take lightly. I trust very few people. But I trust you."

_To take the path that will assure your own success and will, in the process, assure my own._

She doesn't say that.

"To take the path you believe will ensure my success. Which you hope will lead to your own success," Loki finishes, leaning back. "You don't really trust me."

Azula rolls her eyes, "No. I don't." She leans back leisurely, commenting as she examines her nails, "You haven't given me any reason to trust you. Trust is something that is earned, Loki. Besides," she looks up from her nails, "you don't trust me either."

He looks at her, calculating. Not denying it, not confirming it. But they both know it's true.

She cocks an eyebrow, "Well, I suppose we're even then, aren't we, oh _Clever God_?"

He leans back, his body encompassing the chair superiorly, "Apparently, _Warrior of Svahango_."

She smirks, unsurprised with his use of the title. Of course he would know it despite the fact that she hadn't actually told anyone besides Ty Lee of it. The guy was informed.

She nods, almost politely, "I look forward to working with you."

Loki studies the slight staining on her facial bandages critically and returns the nod, "And I with you."

In the living area of Azula's quarters, listening to the conversation just in case she needs to intervene, Ty Lee bites her lips and stares at the floor. She can almost feel the world folding in on itself, retreating as the agreement is reached.

She knows the pot is sitting on the stove now and the heat was just turned up. It'll take time before it rises to a simmer, but it'll get there, and then it'll boil. Then the boiling water will burn everything in its path, leaving behind searing, dead patches of skin and counters sterilized of all disease.

Ty Lee barely managed to avoid the explosion that resulted from Azula's botched plan to try to take and analyze the scepter. Few of the team she had led into Loki's quarters had remained alive after the explosion. In fact, the man who had tried bending the energy, based on Azula's initial plan, had effectively disintegrated. Azula hadn't had enough information to make the plan result in anything better, and she hadn't known that she hadn't possessed such information so it all came at an unfortunate surprise. A cost that her soldiers and Nezha's agents paid.

Ty Lee rather doubts that the result from this team-up will be different. The boiling water will not fail to engulf everything. Ty Lee just hopes there will be a waterbender around when it does.

* * *

**The Prisons of the Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator, Ba Sing Se, Earth Kingdom, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Pertiwi 14, 104 ASC – 19:22 BSST**

June, Piandao, and Bolin; the Bounty Hunter, the Swordsmaster, and the Boulder, had grown weak while imprisoned. The earthbender was, unsurprisingly, the one hardest hit. Both the Hunter and the Swordsmaster had experience in withstanding the pain forced upon them, the everchanging light, the water, the verbal abuse, and they did not have to go through the trauma of having their bending being temporarily taken away repeatedly, seeing as they were not benders themselves.

The former Joo Dee isn't fond of the torture, least of all the manipulation, but she always makes an effort to distance herself from the torture, to ensure that her own experiences do not colour her decisions. She knows that to go easy on a traitor to the Fire Nation, a neutral woman whose skills were of great interest to the Earth Queen, and a man who had proven to be a pain in the Fire Lord and Earth Queen's side simply because of who he knew, would not be looked upon favourably.

Pearl knew how to make people like her, brainwashed or not. She had perfected the art of making her superiors – really, there was only one whose opinion mattered for the longest time – like and trust her, despite her frequent prods and questions that would have gotten anyone else executed.

In her first few days as Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator of Ba Sing Se she had been tempted to just get the Dai Li back on her side and try to organize a coup to overthrow the teenage girl that had taken over the entire Earth Kingdom. Azula had put a stop to that within days of that thought coming to mind.

"I am the only one standing between the Earth Kingdom and total destruction. I suggest you review your priorities Pearl."

She did.

Since then, Pearl has made it her personal mission to ensure that the might the Fire Nation exerted upon the Earth Kingdom was lessened as much as possible. She wasn't about to sit back and let the Fire Nation stomp all over her and her people. She refused.

She soon owed Azula, to her irritation. Pearl never found out why, but Ozai had plotted to burn the entire Earth Kingdom to the ground during Sozin's Comet. She never found out how he even came up with the idea, but she figured that was irrelevant, he was Ozai, the man's logic was typified by death, fire, and more death. Point was, Azula sent a communiqué of the impending arrival of Phoenix King Ozai Supreme Ruler of the World and an army of Comet-benders who wanted to try to obliterate her – Azula's – greatest victory. It wasn't a difficult message to decipher.

Azula was angry and stuck in the Fire Nation. Azula considered her greatest victory at that point to be the subjugation of the entire Earth Kingdom – logically so, seeing as she was the first person in history to do it and she did so without an army in a very short span of time. The Comet would give firebenders unnatural power. Ozai's logic was typified by death, fire, and more death. It was easy to figure out.

The Earth Kingdom was threatened so Pearl did her job and evacuated the most likely targets for the onslaught of flame. Azula had likely wanted her to fight back but Pearl knew that would be pointless. They didn't have firebenders to oppose Ozai's firebenders. They had earthbenders and nonbenders and not nearly enough to oppose an army of superpowered firebenders in advanced flying machines the Earth Kingdom was decades away from developing. Opposing Ozai with an army would have only led to a battle in which the entire Earth Kingdom army was incinerated. Evacuation was the only way to keep the civilians, and soldiers, safe.

Pearl knew she owed Azula for that communiqué. She figured she paid her dues though when she took over for the girl after Ozai burned half of her face off and insulted the Earth Kingdom in the same breath. If it wasn't for her the nobles at the annual party to assure the powerful people of the world that the Phoenix King was, in fact, alive, would have probably wound up dead. Few of them knew how to handle themselves in a battle, nor when one of the most powerful people in the world wound up defeated and indisposed – if only for a moment. Pearl had that experience when not only Long Feng wound up defeated by Azula, but the Earth King himself wound up vanishing.

She had paid her dues to the teenage conqueror but Pearl still found herself pausing when confronted with the question of what to do with the three people who had invaded Lake Laogai and saw a few of their pet projects.

Project Platinum involved the metal suits that were, in theory, impossible to bend. Project Non was centered around Azula's friend, Ty Lee, who instructed a nonbending group of individuals from the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom in chi-blocking and pressure points to be a group of Azula's personal agents – so they didn't go through Nezha, the Fire Nation Spymaster, Pearl herself, or Ryom, the Operational Head of the Dai Li. The final project the trio uncovered, albeit briefly, was Project SnakeEyes. It was the one that involved the animals with the poisonous venom or blood that were being investigated for possible military applications. It was hitting a block that promised little in positive results but Pearl rather doubted that mattered to June.

June was a complicated entity. A Bounty Hunter who used one of the rarest animals on the planet, a Shirshu named Nyla, to hunt down anyone based on who gave her the most money. She had been utilized before the reign of Phoenix King Ozai by the Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, Northern Water Tribe, various corporations, and countless private individuals. She had been utilized during the reign of Phoenix King Ozai by the Phoenix King himself, the Fire Lord and Earth Queen, the Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator of Ba Sing Se, and the Order of the White Lotus. Private individuals as well, but much fewer than before. She was trained in using a variety of weapons, a whip, a sword, daggers, firearms, her own hands and feet, and more. She could break into and out of virtually anywhere and her connections had connections. If any one nation got her loyalty she would easily be one of the best spies on the planet. Even with the complications brought upon by her father.

Her father, Piandao, was complicated as well. A Swordsmaster and ex-soldier for the Fire Nation. He betrayed the Fire Nation years ago but managed to remain living on his property within the Fire Nation without problem because of his skills with a sword and the reputation he had, apparently unintentionally, developed. No one really wanted to mess with him. He was trained in a variety of weapons, both contemporary weapons and the traditional weapons his ancestors had used.

Training in using the traditional weapons was a way of honouring his ancestors according to Fire Nation culture and made him that much more respected – which was also why most people in the Fire Nation, including the Royals, trained in traditional weapons as well and tended to use them when confronting other nations, most of whom did not have the same advanced weapons the Fire Nation had. Respect and honour was important. Barring the Fire Sages and perhaps Azula and Ty Lee, maybe Iroh, Piandao was probably the most singularly respected and honoured person in the Fire Nation because of his sheer breadth of knowledge and respect for the ancestors and spirits. He was a philosopher at heart, and trained as such.

Additionally, Piandao was a high member of the Order of the White Lotus, which just added in another layer of complexity to the problem that was compounded by the fact that he was captured alongside his daughter. He had two other children, sons. One was a renegade, travelling similarly to June under an assumed name with a variety of professions. The other was a highly respected Captain of the Fire Nation Navy who tried to bury his family's renegade history beneath a collection of commendations.

Azula would likely try to get to Piandao through his children. Pearl had his daughter right in front of her, had no idea where one of his sons were, and knew the other probably knew less about this situation than she did. The daughter was really the only option at this point, but Pearl knew that the likelihood of breaking June was about as likely as Pearl not punching Long Feng the next time she saw the brainwashing bastard.

Pearl wasn't certain what to do about Piandao or June.

Bolin, the Boulder, was a little easier to deal with. He had no major family connections but he had some impressive earthbending ones through The Blind Bandit AKA Toph Bei Fong. He was a metalbender and earthbender, formerly nothing more than a competitive earthbender in a technically illegal earthbending ring that no one really bothered to try and shut down because it really wasn't causing a ton of trouble. He was basically a bender for hire currently, although Pearl suspected that he hadn't been paid for this job, he was just coming along for the ride because Piandao and June needed an earthbender to get beneath Lake Laogai. She had a couple options with him. She could just have him executed for crimes against the Earth Kingdom, or, she could blackmail or pay him to participate in tests involving Project Platinum, or, she could turn him over to Azula.

The Azula option was immediately discarded. The woman was engaged in a rather precarious juggling act involving her father, every nation on the planet, and that infuriating Loki. Pearl, frankly, didn't trust her to deal with Bolin effectively at this point and prevent a world war from occurring, again, thanks to her father and his logic of death, fire, and more death. She really was the only person standing between the Earth Kingdom and total destruction at this point.

Execution or work then. Execution was a waste of resources, frankly. Plus, if Azula ever wound up weakening enough for Pearl to make a move to throw her off the throne and reclaim it in the name of the actual Earth Kingdom, Pearl wanted a metalbender or two on her side. There were a few, most as engineers working in armour development for the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation, but they weren't exactly thriving. Especially as soldiers. She needed metalbending soldiers.

Work it was.

"Take him to Platinum," Pearl orders, gesturing to Bolin through the screen depicting him sitting in his wooden cell, his hands tied behind him with leather. The Dai Li act immediately. She looks to the screens depicting June and Piandao.

"Ma'am, there's a message from the Queen," one of the agents says. He's sitting in front of the lone computer in the Earth Kingdom connected to the Fire Nation's complicated Intranet communication system. Pearl has no doubt that he would be, in a push, more loyal to Azula than herself.

She leans over the agent and eyes the screen, covered with Azula's message.

_/ Remember Pearl, FN deals with FN. /_

Pearl scowls then gestures with one of her hands, "Get a transfer for Itzli, Piandao."

"To where, ma'am?" Ryom questions.

"Royal Caldera City."

"Yes ma'am," he bows sharply and gestures to two of his agents to take the job.

Pearl really isn't surprised that Azula knows of their prisoners. She has more agents than just the communications guy loyal first to her after all. She's Azula.

"Ryom, what would you recommend for June?"

Ryom ponders the question for a moment before responding, "We should search her hideouts for more information on her activities. There is that unsolved case from a few years ago involving the discovery of that poisoned bear as well."

Not Platypus-Bear or Armadillo-Bear, just Bear.

"And SnakeEyes?" questions Pearl.

"I believe we have gotten all we can from her."

"Was it ever confirmed if that bear was the King's bear?"

"That was impossible to confirm."

"I want her questioned about that."

"Yes ma'am."

No one dares to mention the possibility of the bear discovered all those years ago as actually being Earth King Kuei's bear and by extension that possibility of the Earth King's survival. They would prefer not to curse the possibility of the Earth King being alive and capable of ruling once more. Hence, the case's continued consideration.

* * *

**The Boiling Rock, Fire Nation, Mah****ābhūta**

**Pertiwi 28, 104 ASC – 21:36 CPT**

_Once, we were simply Mah__āb__h__ūta. A gathering of people, some with the ability to manipulate the energy around us. Not lightening necessarily. Simply, energy. Waterbenders, earthbenders, airbenders, firebenders, we did not exist. We were simply benders. Benders of energy._

_He hasn't told me what happened to change that and I am not certain that I wish to know, but it does concern me. If our ancestors managed to separate from themselves, from their own abilities as benders, and take only parts of that bending as their own, then where will it end? When will we be satisfied with our separation? Our segregation?_

_Will it be when the slaves of the Earth Kingdom rebel? Will it be when the Fire Nation's freaks scream? Will it be when the Water Tribes' nonbenders run? Will it be when the Air Nation's rebels leap from their homes?_

_I am frightened for our future. If we do not change, return to our legends of peace and prosperity and equality, who is to say that we will not wind up battling one another again instead of ourselves?_

::

Toph's prison is one with minimal metal. The only metal is platinum, which, according to the "experts", is impossible to bend. Azula takes that declaration with a very large grain of salt. They had said it was impossible to bend metal before. Who was to say that the very person who disproved that statement couldn't disprove the second one and bend platinum?

Toph's restraints are leather, she's suspended above the wooden floor, and her feet and hands are covered in cloth to make it more difficult for her to see.

It's cruel, but effective, and Azula does not want The Blind Bandit to escape. She will take no chances.

Azula, dressed in nothing but cloth, her rings and crown off, her belt a sash, her boots soft leather, no daggers or swords on her body, walks into the cell. She knocks on the door and looks pointedly at the security camera in the cell. The green light saying the camera is on turns red, signalling that the camera is off. She leaps up, covering the lens with a piece of thick cloth because she wouldn't put it past her father to try and spy on her with it. On the opposite side of the cell door is Ty Lee, replacing the guards that had been there before. They're on a break.

"Who's there?" Toph calls, struggling against her bindings, her hands and feet twitching within the cloth.

"A 400-foot tall purple platypus-bear," Azula says dryly.

"You!" Toph struggles harder, pulling at the restraints. "I'll knock your head right off your skinny little shoulders!"

"Now, don't be hasty, Toph – can I call you Toph?"

"No."

"Very well. Don't be hasty Bei Fong," Azula doesn't miss the surprise that flashes across Toph's face when she abides by Toph's demand, "I am the only person at the moment standing between Mahābhūta and the Phoenix King."

"Your father."

"By blood only, and I don't put much stock in blood, Bei Fong." Just The Divine and Their Support. "It would be wise to not kill me, considering I am the only person at the moment capable of opposing Ozai and his…allies."

"Why would you fight your dad? You worship him."

Azula snorts, "Pfft, please, my father is pathetic. Was he the one who took over the entire Earth Kingdom in less than a week? No. I had to do that for him. He got defeated by a skinny twelve-year-old kid."

Toph's eyes narrow, "You don't get to talk about Twinkle-Toes like that."

"I didn't say anything wrong, or lie, Bei Fong. He was twelve-years-old, correct?"

The fifteen-year-old purses her lips, "Yes, but-"

"He was skinny."

"Okay, yeah, Twinkle-Toes's arms were like limp noodles but-"

"And he was, for all intents and purposes, a kid."

"You're meaning all that as an insult!"

"Hardly. I took over the Earth Kingdom when I was a kid. Being a kid isn't an insult. Being skinny isn't an insult. All of that is to my father, but my father's opinion doesn't matter much here."

"What do you want?"

"Would you like to see – pardon me – speak to Twinkle-Toes?"

"You killed him! Unless you plan on calling up his spirit that isn't going to-"

"He's not dead."

"…"

"The boy that burned was a decoy. He was dying anyway, volunteered, no great loss to society. Twinkle-Toes is alive and well, as is Katara, and my brother little Zuzu. And they're doing quite well, actually."

Toph clenches her eyes shut, fighting with herself, "You-you're lying."

Azula smirks, "Can you take that chance?"

Toph raises her head, gritting her teeth, "What do you want, Princess?"

"It's Fire Lord, or Earth Queen, actually."

"What do you want?"

"Are you willing to represent the entire Earth Kingdom? Are you willing to represent all earthbenders? Are you willing to be a symbol and work with myself and Ty Lee? Because if you are, we will be bringing back the idea that the four nations can live in harmony, can live as one, do not have to be separated because separation has never been synonymous with balance, and that, in fact, our world is at its greatest, we as people living on this world are at our greatest when we are working as one, together, balanced but not separated."

"The four nations have to be separated."

"Tell me why."

"To keep balance."

"Why is separation a requirement of balance?"

"Because it just is!"

"Why can the four nations not be blended? Why can an earthbender not live next to a waterbender? Why can a firebender and an airbender not have a child and raise that child with both their creeds, balanced? You have been working with siblings from the Water Tribe, a boy from the Air Nation, and my brother, the Prince of the Fire Nation, and you are not from any of those nations, you are from the Earth Kingdom. Explain to me then, knowing what you know, that people from Water, Earth, Air, and Fire can work together, it is a_ necessity_ that those nations be separated,_ that people from different nations ____never interact with one another_ because that is precisely what separation means and implies."

Toph falls silent.

Azula's expression relaxes and she straightens up.

"You've only ever worked with people from the Fire Nation," Toph points out. "How do you know any of this even works?"

"Because you and your team got dangerously close to usurping my father, to beating him, and that has never happened before. You got the closest, and would you like to know the difference between your team and every other team that has tried to overthrow him, Azulon, and Sozin? There have been many, of course, national leaders always have groups trying to overthrow them and they were no different."

Toph doesn't speak.

"Your team had representatives from every nation working together, like our ancestors at the beginning of Mahābhūta did. No other team had people from each nation working together. It was always just Water Tribe Warriors, or Earth Kingdom soldiers, or small sects of Fire Nation rebels. It was never warriors from the Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom, and the Fire Nation alongside an Air Nomad. It was only ever one. And that was their downfall." Azula paces back to the cell door, "Additionally, the only reason the entire Earth Kingdom is not up in flames at the moment thanks to my father and his utter hatred of me is that I have been working with people from the Earth Kingdom and people from the Water Tribes and my own people from the Fire Nation to defend it, the Earth Kingdom, your home."

It's a stretch of the truth but Toph doesn't notice without her earthbending.

"You hate anyone who isn't Fire Nation. You think Earth Kingdom people are filthy and Water Tribe people are barbarians," Toph snaps.

"When have I said that?"

Toph growls.

Azula crosses her arms, unimpressed, "I may think the Fire Nation is superior, but that does not mean I hate the other nations. Anyone intelligent can see that there are valuable points to each nation, and equally despicable ones. Besides, you think the people of the Fire Nation are monsters and freaks and terrors who are born evil. You don't get to accuse me of anything like that when you do the same."

"Why do you want me?"

"You said it yourself. You're the Greatest Earthbender in the World. And we are threatened from multiple sides by multiple enemies, only one of whom we have faced before."

"What enemies?"

"Three of them. One of whom is incredibly powerful, another whom I am dealing with, and the third you know as Phoenix King."

"You want me to help you fight them?"

"Not exactly," Azula says. "I am gathering a team, representatives from as many nations as possible, benders and nonbenders. This team, these operatives, will become symbols for the world to look up to. They will become symbols for the people to look up to and realize that they are strongest when they band together, compile their different experiences, their different skill sets, and learn from one another. You will be earthbending, of course, but your face will be covered because the symbol must be able to be passed on to any other earthbender. You will be threatened by people so you will be targeted by assassins, by oppositional groups, those sorts of people. You must be prepared to face such individuals and groups."

"And if I do this you'll let me talk to Aang, Katara, Zuko, Sokka, and Suki?"

"Aang, Katara, and Zuko, for now. Later, you will likely get the opportunity to talk to the last two."

"Who will the representatives from the other nations be?"

"Fire is undecided. We cannot have a representative from the air nation. Ty Lee will represent nonbenders across the world. Perhaps another nonbender will be added as well, considering how many of them there are."

"A nonbender?"

"Nonbenders are just as valuable as benders, Bei Fong. They have different skill sets. Ty Lee, for example, knows our bodies inside and out. She knows precisely how to repair and destroy them. She has studied numerous branches of nonbending combat from all over the planet, such as the style of the Kyoshi Warriors. She is a good representative for nonbenders, we have been assured of this."

"And water?"

"What about the waterbender who beat you?"

"He bent my blood! You aren't supposed to be able to do that! Not without a full moon!"

Azula's expression twitches in surprise. Bloodbending? She had heard, vaguely, of such a thing, but that Yakone had bent Toph's blood was surprising. She needs to see the recording of that fight, clearly recovery has taken up far too much of her time and Yakone should not have been pushed as far down the priority list as he was.

"How do you know it wasn't a full moon?" Azula challenges, keeping her voice steady so as not to betray her surprise.

"Sokka would have said something. His girlfriend turned into the moon. He gets really sappy."

His girlfriend was Yue? Yue had poor taste. The peasant didn't deserve her.

"Is that a yes?" Azula asks.

"No way! The guy's creepy! He's creepier than you."

"That's unfortunate." Azula sighs, "Then I suppose I will offer the position to the waterbending prodigy then. May as well have as many prodigies on the team as possible."

"What prodigy?"

Azula rolls her eyes, "Your friend, idiot. Katara Qilaq. She's a prodigy."

"She is?"

"Spirits."

"She isn't gonna agree to it."

"And at the beginning of this conversation did you think you would?"

Toph glares at her.

::

_Representatives of each nation, a bender each, a nonbender each – as Chief Hohana suggested – we need to fix this._

* * *

**The Boiling Rock, Fire Nation, Mah****ābhūta**

**Pertiwi 29, 104 ASC – 08:43 CPT**

Suki Mizushima, Captain of the Kyoshi Warriors, glares at the guards on either side of her. She's restrained to the chair in the centre of the camera-less metal room, guards on either side of her, and she's rather irritated by the fact that she doesn't know where Toph or Sokka are. Naturally, stewing behind all that is the anger from her warriors being imprisoned by Azula.

It's logical that she isn't particularly pleased when Azula and a nameless guard with a covered face enters the room.

"What? Couldn't just throw me into prison again?" Suki taunts and fails at keeping her surprise hidden at the sight of the scar nearly identical to Zuko's covering Azula's face.

"Leave us," Azula orders the guards. Without comment they exit the room, leaving the teenage girls and the guard alone.

"I won't be interrogating you, Captain Mizushima," Azula says, pulling out a tablet, ignoring Suki's widened eyes at the sight of the scar. "I have a task for you."

Suki glares, quickly recovering from the surprise, "And what makes you think I'll do it?"

Azula holds the tablet out to her, "On this tablet is the information of one mission, teams involved, the objective, etcetera. Your job is to lead your team to victory."

Suki looks up at her, frowning.

"Katsu here," Azula gestures to the female guard, "will be following your orders exactly and moving your team on the screen to the places you order them. Obviously, we cannot free your hands for you to do this yourself."

"Obviously," Suki retorts. "What is this supposed to accomplish?"

Azula leans forward, a smirk curving across her lips, "What if I told you that the orders you give to this team on this screen will be directly communicated to a team currently in the field and if you mess up, if you deliberately attempt to throw this mission, you will be responsible for the lives you either change or destroy in reality? Anyone dies on that screen, they die in reality. If you choose to do nothing, they stand there for as long as necessary and their enemies find them and either kill or capture them, depending on their moods of course."

"I know you lie constantly."

"But am I lying now?" Azula rises and moves to the wall behind Suki. Suk cranes her neck and looks behind her to see Azula typing on a keyboard that jutted out from the wall. There was nothing Suki had seen in the Earth Kingdom that was comparable to the keyboard jutting from the wall.

Azula turns back around as a defined section of the front wall beside the door slides open, displaying what seemed to be the view from someone's helmet. In the same instant the room filled with the noises of people gathered around the fire displayed on the screen. The noise was to the tune of that which was on the screen.

Azula activates her com-link and orders, "This is Dragon. Sound off."

The crackle of a com-link echoes in the room followed by a series of voices, men and women, identifying themselves. At the end of the 12 person list the first person who spoke, a man, said, :: Katsu. Komodo-Rhinos a go on your mark. ::

Azula turns to Suki, simultaneously killing the connection temporarily, "There is one squad. They are an intelligence squad called the Komodo-Rhinos and their senior officer is Lieutenant Katsu. Second-in-command is Second Lieutenant Li."

The guard pulls up Second Lieutenant Li's biography alongside Lieutenant Katsu's on the tablet.

"Li has two delightful little daughters. Two and five respectively. Katsu's son is heading off to be an academic, his parents and older sister – a soldier – are very proud. I've read his work. It is impressive," Azula says leisurely as the guard flips through photos of Li and Katsu with their families, looking happy and innocent and entirely too normal.

Suki feels sick as she snaps, "You're going to lead these people to their deaths!"

"Oh no, Captain, you're in charge here," Azula says, hooking a com-link to Suki's ear. She straightens and says into her com-link, her voice echoing in Suki's, "Your commander has arrived, Komodo-Rhinos. I'd like you to meet Paint."

Suki doesn't say a word as Katsu says over their com-link, :: Rather doubt we'll ever see your face Paint. Hope you have an idea as to why we're out here. ::

"Your mission, Komodo-Rhinos, Paint," says Azula, "is to infiltrate the Primary Point as outlined on your mission briefing. Get in, get whatever information you can find, get out. If you have to kill someone, do it. If you do get spotted though, preference is given to capture rather than kill. You know what to do with a prisoner, Katsu."

Suki scans the mission briefing displayed for her by the guard, her eyes widening, "You want to break into one of Phoenix King's intelligence towers?"

"Yes, Paint," Azula says, rolling her eyes. "Remain at base camp, Katsu, until receiving the word from Paint. You're on standby for the next 9 hours. Get some sleep."

:: Yes ma'am. ::

Azula kills the com-link connection and turns to Suki, "You have 9 hours before I order Katsu to go ahead with the mission without full intel on the target, without knowledge of his entire team, and without a way out. If you succeed, everyone goes home happy and healthy. If you fail, someone will probably die or be wounded. If you do nothing then I will have every member of the Komodo-Rhinos killed. I'll even send you recordings of their deaths because I'm so considerate. Katsu here," she gestures to the guard, "will get you any information you need. I suggest you consider what is important to you, Captain."

Katsu. The guard was Katsu.

Suki can feel her stomach dropping, her face paling. Azula is really doing this. She's really putting the lives of these people in her hands, in the hands of one of her enemies. Azula can't be anything but fully aware of the fact that the people are Fire Nation and that Suki has spent her entire life fighting against the Fire Nation. Is this really how little Azula values the lives of these people? Is this really how little these lives mean to her?

Suki grits her teeth, glaring at Azula.

Azula turns with a vapid, "Good luck." In the next instant, she's out of the cell and Suki's staring at the flickering fire onscreen and listening to the morbid but optimistic conversations of the Komodo-Rhinos around the fire.

The Captain of the Kyoshi Warriors, trained from childhood to be a warrior, to lead teams up to 150 warriors large, exhales heavily. She looks at the guard Katsu and questions, "Was she telling the truth?"

She can't see Katsu's eyes but the woman responds softly, almost too soft to be heard, "Lieutenant Katsu is my father so, yes, I think she was."

Suki can feel all of the colour drain from her face as she stares at the older woman. Suki shuts her eyes and takes in a few steadying breaths then opens her eyes and looks up at the female Katsu, "Show me everything."

Katsu nods sharply and sets the tablet on Suki's lap, displaying the mission briefing.

If Azula won't look after these people, look after this mother, this father, Fire Nation or not, then Suki will. She'll complete the mission without any casualties. For those families. For Katsu sitting next to her and watching as her father embarks on what is probably one of the most dangerous missions of his entire career while under the command of an Earth Kingdom girl.

* * *

**A/N: **So, Suki is one of my favourite characters.

**Hiatus Info: **I'll be taking a hiatus from updating for about a month (I know, I did this already, unexpectedly, and I'm sorry I did not mean to do that). This is because this story now has a war on three [developing] fronts (from Azula's perspective) that will likely eventually turn into a war on four fronts. And every front is interconnected so…I'm gonna be taking some time off this to get the next few chapters written out, finalize my plot, probably make a few webs, and watch Avengers about fifty more times because if I don't this is gonna get more convoluted really quickly and I want to try and avoid that as much as possible. Sorry!

Pertiwi – April (borrowed from the Indonesian Ibu Pertiwi 'Mother Earth' or 'Mother Prithvi')

Ryom – I believe this is a Korean name coming from dragon and horse

Katsu – apparently both a Japanese surname and a Zen word referring to removing delusions. I thought it was appropriate.


	9. Chapter 8

**Rating: M**

_Avatar: The Last Airbender, Legend of Korra, and The Avengers do not belong to me. I am merely mixing together the sandboxes._

**Warnings: AU; **_**[see Chapter Warnings]**_

**Synopsis: When your own flames burn you but you're too stubborn to fall, your only option is to walk through the flames. Or, in which Azula meets another second-born and throws her planet into the world of intergalactic war. Azula-centric.**

* * *

_**Chapter Warning(s): misogyny, ableism, discussion of domestic and child abuse**_

* * *

**Second-Born**

"_Intelligent discontent is the mainspring of civilization. Progress is born of agitation. It is agitation or stagnation."_

Eugene V. Debs

**Chapter 8**

* * *

**New Ozai, Territory of Omashu, Earth Kingdom, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Vipassi 4, 104 ASC – 07:42 WET**

The scent of ginseng lingers from the stall the boy of 13 summers walks by. He is carrying a bag of newspapers distributed amongst those against the regime installed by the Phoenix King. The newspapers are underground, naturally, in particular because of their critiques.

He exchanges a paper for a coin from a portly man with a gray beard and lined amber eyes. The man adds that paper to the collection in his own bag and continues his shopping trip.

Moshi, as the amber-eyed man prefers to be called, returns to the small, rundown home at the edge of New Ozai's territory and immediately sets to work brewing some tea. He pauses for a moment, staring at the extra cup sitting on the counter, lost in thought. With practiced will he pulls his thoughts away from the scarred young man who used to use the extra cup. Moshi, as he prefers to be called, pours his own cup of tea.

He takes a seat at the table and inhales the scent of the tea. Relaxed, he pulls the papers out of his bag and spreads them out on the table.

Most are from the Earth Kingdom, with one from the Northern Water Tribe courtesy of Pakku, and two from the Fire Nation courtesy of the Fire Nation itself and of Jeong Jeong.

He starts with the underground paper, _The Avatar's Journal_, and flips to one of the most vocal critiques of the new regime, a man only identified as Kuruk.

oOoOo

_**With the splitting of the Tonatiuh House we should turn to the Northern Water Tribe**_

_2 Vipassi 104 – KURUK_

_On Tsuki 29, as we all know, Phoenix King Ozai Tonatiuh attacked his daughter, Fire Lord and Earth Queen Azula Tonatiuh. Witnesses said that before the attack the Phoenix King appeared agitated and frustrated, and the gas explosion that occurred that night and decimated half of The Nest was the final straw. He accused his daughter of, essentially, trying to overthrow him. As punishment for her perceived impertinence the Phoenix King bent fire onto his daughter's face, leaving half of her face scarred in a chillingly similar pattern to the burn scar her older brother, the late Prince Zuko, had._

_Not only, however, did the Phoenix King attack his own daughter but he insulted the Earth Kingdom, calling its people "pathetic and filthy" right in front of the Earth Kingdom dignitaries. Is this reason enough to assume that the Tonatiuh House is crumbling at its foundations?_

_Taking a look back at the reign of the Tonatiuh House over Mahābhūta and before then the Fire Nation, it would appear as though from the moment Azula was declared Fire Lord she was equal to her father, Phoenix King Ozai, in a bizarre rejection of traditional notions of authority and inheritance. Azula failed to let her emotions get the best of her and was said to be a decent Fire Lord and Earth Queen by those under her direct command, despite her natural disadvantages. Phoenix King Ozai, while remaining in the shadows for most of the past 4 years was still clearly the one dominating over every decision made._

_In the past four years many things have happened. The Avatar Aang was burned in front of the world, an act that ended the Avatar Cycle and sent the Great Element into a state of panic. Shortly afterwards, word got out that not only was Avatar Aang dead but so were two of his closest allies, Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation and Katara the Mighty of the Southern Water Tribe. Rebellions sprang up overnight._

_Fire Lord Azula was crowned Earth Queen, took back Omashu and renamed it, once again, New Ozai while simultaneously removing King Bumi from his throne. For the first few months of her reign over the Earth Kingdom she seemed unaware that only a male heir could rule unchallenged over the Earth Kingdom and that therefore her leadership was not accepted. That law was quickly changed by her and her advisors – including the Earth Kingdom's own Pearl Nüwa, Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator of Ba Sing Se – in a series of secret meetings no one outside of the national palace knows the discussions of. I can only guess what went on during those meetings._

_Regardless, legally she became the sole ruler of the Earth Kingdom under the title of Earth Queen. The protests of the Earth Kingdom citizens were silenced quickly, brutally and efficiently by the secret police, the Dai Li, now spread throughout the Earth Kingdom. With an Earth Kingdom native as the leader of Ba Sing Se – the cultural, political, and economic centre of the Earth Kingdom – you would think that Ba Sing Se at the very least would be spared the worst of the Fire Nation's tyranny. The Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator of Ba Sing Se though, Pearl Nüwa, is not only known to have once been a follower of Long Feng – the traitor who acted against the Earth King and assisted in the Fire Nation's domination over the Earth Kingdom – but also a supporter of the Earth Queen's policies granting anyone the right to join the Earth Kingdom's Forces, regardless of their gender or their status._

_The Earth Queen has imposed the policies and methods found in her birthplace, the Fire Nation, upon the Earth Kingdom. A system that funnels money into military, technological, and industrial development, makes soldiers achieve notable ranks through a combination of skill, talent, and schmoozing – a task made much simpler by being born as a part of the nobility – and makes combat training for both benders and nonbenders a requirement for all children, regardless of gender, attending national educational institutions. These radical ideas have been supported completely by Nüwa._

_What are the chances that Nüwa will oppose the even more horrifically damaging ideas imposed by the teenage Queen that are sure to come?_

_All automatic weapons (pg. B2) are now illegal in the Earth Kingdom so even those few whom own guns in the Earth Kingdom are forbidden from possessing them. Conversely, in the Fire Nation, such weapons are welcomed. What chance does the Earth Kingdom have against the inevitable literal Scorched Earth policy when all its people have to guard themselves are earthbenders, the rare metalbender, and swords, staffs, bows and arrows, against an army of firebenders and lightningbenders with shotguns in their packs and machine guns jutting up from their tanks?_

_You could make the argument that the Fire Nation's popular philosophy of Honour in Battle will prevent them from unleashing a literal Scorched Earth policy – as was attempted in 100 ASC. But that won't stand up. Honour in Battle is the popular Fire Nation notion that you must have honour in order to advance to the next stage of your life, you must have honour to be respected, and one way of gaining honour is by defeating your opponent in a fair fight. A battle between a person with a machine gun and a person with a sword is not a fair fight, therefore either both will abandon their weapons or that individual with the machine gun will exchange his weapon for a sword, according to the Fire Nation's Honour in Battle ideal. In reality though, while educating oneself in how to use an "old" weapon is highly respected, and adhering to the Honour in Battle ideal is encouraged, it is unlikely that it will hold up in practice for much longer._

_Indeed, the simple fact that the Earth Queen and Fire Lord is utilizing secret police and destructive methods of silencing the subjects of the Earth Kingdom shows that she doesn't adhere to the Honour in Battle philosophy. Therefore, why should anyone else? She uses her advantages whenever she can. She is the example for the Fire Nation people to look up to. Her methods, starkly against the Honour in Battle philosophy, are being embraced by the people of the Fire Nation and could very well result in the Scorched Earth policy once more. Except this time, it'll be successful._

_A Scorched Earth can be avoided though. The Tonatiuh House is clearly falling. With the father distrusting his daughter and vice-versa, there is a clear division within the House already. Ozai's Followers and Azula's Followers. Both leaders are clearly unstable. Both leaders have managed to, despite that instability, remain in power for a number of years. Both are intelligent, powerful individuals who have a need to be in control._

_For Ozai's Followers we can count everyone in The Nest and likely a number of people in the Fire Nation, including the growing gang the Agni Kai Triad which is spreading from the Fire Nation into the Earth Kingdom through the Fire Nation's Forces and the Phoenix King's private military._

_For Azula's Followers we can count everyone in the Fire Nation Palace, Supreme Bureaucratic Administrator Pearl Nüwa of Ba Sing Se, the Dai Li, New Ozai, and the Fire Nation's Forces in general._

_The political wildcard here is Chief Arnook of the Northern Water Tribe. Many believe that he is working alongside the Fire Lord and Earth Queen, although as this is based upon the fact that they have been seen more often in public together than Ozai and the Chief, I am hesitant to believe this. In particular because Ozai has been rarely seen in public since the defeat of the Avatar in general._

_The Northern Water Tribe, while having lost their sister tribe the Southern Water Tribe, to the tyranny of the Fire Nation, remain the only regime to have resisted the Fire Nation's attempts at total domination. Chief Arnook has many forces in the Northern Water Tribe, and they have managed to successfully for over 100 years stave of invasion forces with a combination of those forces, their advantageous ice tundra territory, and political manoeuvring. Most impressively, Chief Arnook has successfully staved off all attempts by Fire Lord Azula to put the Northern Water Tribe under her control._

_To put this in perspective, one must remember that Azula accomplished at the age of 14 for the first time in all of history what hundreds of mature, experienced men before her failed to accomplish. She not only took over Ba Sing Se but conquered the entire Earth Kingdom in less than three weeks and with only the Dai Li. Every military and political leader before her, all older and more experienced than her, were unable to do in their entire lifetimes with entire armies what she did in less than three weeks, with a small force of earthbenders, at the age of 14._

_Fire Lord Azula is, inarguably, one of the most brilliant military and political leaders in all of Mahābhūta's history. Even her father, Phoenix King Ozai, could be said to have an inferior military and political mind when compared to his daughter's. Although he will likely deny this to the bitter end._

_Yet, Chief Arnook has successfully managed to keep the Northern Water Tribe relatively free of not only her father's tyranny but her tyrannical rule._

_Chief Arnook and the Northern Water Tribe could very well be the hammer that brings down the Tonatiuh House for good._

_I know who I'm putting my support behind to turn the Tonatiuh House to ash._

oOoOo

The Dragon of the West frowns, not trusting the assumption that Chief Arnook is the one to bring down Azula and Ozai. According to Pakku, Arnook has been working with Azula, going so far as to removing one of the cornerstones of the ancient Water Tribe and beginning to have men be trained as healers and women as warriors. Iroh will heartily support that move by Arnook but that doesn't change the fact that it is a bizarre move for him. Perhaps it could assist him in gaining support from Azula and Ozai but, well, Iroh cannot get away from Pakku's reports of Arnook meeting with Azula in secret and even introducing her to one of the Northern Water Tribe's greatest waterbending warriors, a man named Yakone.

It is…troubling.

The rest of the articles that catch his eye mostly continue to revolve around the ongoing story of Azula's recovery, and the cause for the marking.

**The Fire Lord's mark is revealed for the first time since the act** – _The Caldera Sun_

**The Earth Queen's scar is a "mark by the Phoenix King against the Earth Kingdom" according to N****ü****wa **– _Ba Sing Se Times_

It's hardly a surprise. While Zuko received his scar during an Agni Kai, something that was expected no matter how terrible, Azula received hers during no measured combat situation. Her scar was a complete surprise, to everyone, so it is going to capture the attention of many people for quite awhile.

Iroh unfolds the broadsheet and can't stop the surprised expression from crossing his face at the rare image on the page. It's of Azula in her finery and the artist had made the scar stretching across her left eye and cheek brighter than anything else. It's been healing for a decent amount of time, and the scarring is, for the wound it is, remarkably well put-together. It is, nevertheless, jarring to see a scar nearly identical to Zuko's on the face of his insane sister.

Iroh's gaze flicks from the image of Azula to the extra cup. His eyes turn downcast. Zuko's gone. The kids are gone.

He isn't about to believe that the Avatar is gone though. He watched what happened when Tui was killed. He knows that the Avatar isn't the same as one of the Spirits but he's certain that because of what the Avatar _is_ regardless that killing him before his time would result in harming the world as well. If not physically then spiritually, perhaps with the Spirits themselves revolting against the killer.

He has to believe that. If not, then why did the Avatar come to be in the first place? The Avatar was supposed to be the crossroads for the Spirits, the connection between the Spirit and Mortal planes, the physical manifestation of balance. If the Avatar was not necessary to Mahābhūta then why did he come to be in the first place?

* * *

**The Boiling Rock, Fire Nation, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Vipassi 6, 104 ASC – 21:16 CPT**

Captain Suki Mizushima misses her warriors – the Kyoshi Warriors. She misses Sokka and Toph, Katara and even Zuko. Mostly though, she misses her warriors.

Azula still hasn't told her much of anything regarding the Kyoshi Warriors and Suki rather doubts that she ever will. Suki doesn't think they're in The Boiling Rock. If they were, she would have already seen them, and half of her is considering the possibility of them being in one of the Earth Kingdom's prisons. She doesn't entertain the notion that they could all be dead by now.

Four years with nothing from her warriors and it's tempting to consider that they may be dead, but Suki can't allow herself to think that way. Since first getting intel after the Earth Kingdom incident that her warriors were in one of the Fire Nation's prisons, Suki had clung to that intel with everything she had. She still clings to it, praying, hoping, that they're well even if they're still imprisoned.

Who is she kidding? They're still imprisoned. If they managed to break out she would have heard by now. They didn't go over those training scenarios because they were fun to go over. They didn't have their various codes – written, fan, verbal – for fun. They had them because they knew the risks associated with being Kyoshi Warriors. Imprisonment, torture, death, etcetera, they knew about all of that.

Kyoshi Warriors were trained from the girls born on Kyoshi Island. Sometimes those girls were already interested in becoming warriors. Sometimes those girls were not. Sometimes the training was passed down mother to daughter, as it was with Suki, and other times the daughter would become the first one to be trained as a Kyoshi Warrior. It was an honour to be a Kyoshi Warrior. A mighty responsibility, yes, but still an honour. Most girls on the island wanted to be Kyoshi Warriors desperately. Most girls got to be.

Suki had, because of her late mother, been trained as a Kyoshi Warrior from before the time she could walk. She knew for a fact she had more training than Sokka and Katara, more training than Toph, and probably just as much if not more training than Zuko. She could handle herself and she knew she could handle herself, which was part of the reason for why she was chosen as the leader of her team of Kyoshi Warriors.

There were a few teams of Kyoshi Warriors, mostly divided by generations. It wasn't just a team of teenage girls. The people who thought that…well Suki wasn't to stop them from doing that. If the people who thought that decided to attack the Island then the teenage girls would show up first, and the rest would attack from the dark completely unexpected.

There was the trainee team, mostly comprised of girls younger than twelve. They didn't get to go on any missions, they usually had a mentor from one of the older teams, and while they were expected to pick up some slack from the older teams to prepare them for their eventual responsibilities they were, in the end, the trainee team. Lots of bruises.

There was the former trainee team AKA the teenage team, which was the one Suki had lead when the Avatar had landed on their island. They had more responsibilities than the trainee team, of course, and were fully trained. They simply needed experience and they got that experience by being the official guards of Kyoshi Island.

That frustrated Suki intensely. She knew Kyoshi Island like she knew her armour. Inside and out. Upside down and side-to-side. She could find her way through it blindfolded. She knew exactly where to put her warriors and where to place herself. The Kyoshi Warriors had the entire island quite literally wired. There was a communication system dug into the ground and redone after each winter that enabled the Kyoshi Warriors to communicate quickly, efficiently, and without risk of much tampering at all. They all could run through the island blindfolded and not run into any trees or run off the edge. Protecting Kyoshi Island wasn't exactly hard when you knew it as well as you did and you and your ancestors all, quite literally, had the entire place wired.

She wanted missions beyond the island. She wanted to go to the mainland. She wanted to help the rest of the Earth Kingdom, not just Kyoshi Island. Of course, she was honoured by the responsibility her and her warriors had with the island, but sometimes you just wanted _off_.

The trainee team was guarding Kyoshi Island now. They were ready, and Suki wasn't stupid, she told all of the Kyoshi Warriors on the island, retired or not, what her and her Warriors were doing. Those older Kyoshi Warriors were helping the newer team adapt to protecting the entire island. Most of the girls in the trainee team by now would be a part of the teenage team anyway.

The last team was that comprised of the graduates of the teenage team. It was all of the women in their twenties and above, so it was a massive group of women. Those who were occupied with their families, and wanted to stay close by, or were pregnant, were assigned to the island itself, training the trainee team along with the retired warriors, and assisting the teenage team in protecting the island. The rest of the largest team was split into groups that were distributed across the Earth Kingdom and were dedicated to preserving the memory of Kyoshi – a necessary duty as past years had shown that there were many people who were not above erasing certain people, mostly women, from history – and of similar female warriors. Their duties had expanded slightly with the war to assisting the Earth Kingdom in protection, something Suki herself had dearly wanted to do.

She knew she had caused a stir on Kyoshi Island by leading her team off the island before they were traditionally supposed to, but it wasn't as if Kyoshi Island was unprotected. It was never unprotected. Their system made sure of that. She did feel guilty about putting so much more pressure on the trainee team, but it was pointless to muse over that now.

All she had to do right now was muse though. It was quiet, in her cell.

She needed to get out, find other Kyoshi Warriors, and tell them everything she knew about Azula, about the Fire Nation. She needed to get her warriors out of wherever they were.

_If they're still alive._

Suki pushes that thought to the side. What possible reason could Azula have for killing the Kyoshi Warriors she captured?

They were Earth Kingdom yes, they had opposed her, yes. But Suki knew that Azula had used the Kyoshi Warriors, their symbols at least, to help in bringing down the Earth Kingdom. Azula had kept _her_, their _leader_, alive thus far and had even given her leadership and strategy and tactics jobs involving real people that, at the very least, allowed Suki the chance to exercise her brain and get some form of entertainment while imprisoned. Azula obviously saw some value in, if not her personally, then the Kyoshi Warriors and their methods.

Suki could see why the Kyoshi Warriors would hold some sort of…interest for Azula.

Gender equality in the Fire Nation was still fairly recent. Up until about a decade ago, or something, Suki wasn't certain of the exact year, the Fire Nation was governed in all sects of its society by patrilineal ideals. It wasn't even until Azula herself was named Fire Lord that the obliteration of the patrilineal ruling ideals was completed, technically-speaking, in the highest class. It was obvious, from simple observation, for Suki to discern that the Fire Nation's removal of its patrilineal ideals was, to put it simply, radical to the rest of the world. According to Sokka and Katara the Water Tribes were even more patrilineal than the Fire Nation had been, they still refused to train women in combat and men in healing. The Earth Kingdom hadn't been much better, with female political leaders being as rare as a male Kyoshi Warrior, and female military leaders or even simply the lowest in ranks of soldiers as rare as, again, a male Kyoshi Warrior. They weren't unheard of but they were exceedingly rare nevertheless. Earthbending among women was discouraged, not so much in statements such as "Earthbending is Unwomanly," but in more subtle ways. Such as scheduling earthbending classes during times in which women in more rural areas would be gathering water for their families. Or by marking the only bathroom in the earthbending training facilities for men and giving no alternative for women.

Suki had been frustrated, to put it lightly, when she had seen such insidious means of preventing female earthbenders from learning the intricacies of their craft. Nonbending female warriors, interestingly, both had it slightly better and slightly worse. Better, because nonbending instruction in combat was scheduled at more opportune times and such, but worse because the sexism was more verbal for nonbending female warriors than it was for female earthbenders. However, such sexism tended to be shut down rather quickly thanks in part, Suki was proud to say, the prevalence of the Kyoshi Warriors in Earth Kingdom society, none of whom were benders.

All Kyoshi Island earthbenders – no other type had been born on the island – male and female, were trained separately from the nonbenders and specifically the Kyoshi Warriors. Different techniques were needed for the benders, training together simply didn't work well.

It was unsurprising that the idea of a matrilineal society, such as Kyoshi Island was despite the current male political leader amidst the female cultural and military leaders, would hold a certain fascination for people in the Earth Kingdom, Water Tribes, and Fire Nation. Kyoshi Island was an anomaly. Quite literally an island in a sea of misogynistic ideals.

If Azula hadn't encountered misogyny personally beyond the issues with her becoming Fire Lord and Earth Queen, then next time Suki got her fans back she would eat them.

Azula clearly valued both women and nonbenders, if not for their personal agency then for their skills. The only people she let be included in her small, elite, team which, along with the Dai Li, brought the entire Earth Kingdom under Fire Nation control, were two women, neither of whom were benders.

At the very least, Azula could recognize the skills nonbenders had, regardless of their gender. She wasn't like some people Suki could mention – _Toph_ – who seemed to devalue nonbenders because they were nonbenders. She wasn't like other people Suki could mention – _Sokka_ – who had only valued women in general as creatures who needed protecting or could only look after the home as caretakers or cooks, not as guards. She could see peoples' value, usually when other people couldn't, although their value was likely only calculated by Azula in relation to what _she_ could gain, not the other person.

She used people, without a doubt, but Suki was not above admitting that it was refreshing to not be underestimated because of either a) her gender, b) her age, or c) the fact that she was not a bender.

Kyoshi Island did something similar – not by using people, at least, not to the degree Azula did – by refusing to underestimate people based on assumptions about their gender, age, or bending ability or lack of. They knew the combative value of everyone on their island, regardless of gender, age, and ability or lack of to bend. Azula clearly recognized that and was clearly intrigued by it.

Suki had a hard time believing that Azula had simply killed her Kyoshi Warriors. Azula saw their value, and if Azula had a habit of killing needlessly then that habit would have been obvious when she took over the Earth Kingdom. Instead, the coup was bloodless. Suki was certain she wasn't the only Kyoshi Warrior who knew that and recognized it for what it was. It was a sign that Azula took calculated risks. A sign that Azula knew the impact deaths had on people, in particular the civilians she was in charge of. A sign that Azula knew the systems set up in the political world, military realm, and territories backwards and forwards, and knew how to take advantage of them.

Suki needed to get back to Kyoshi Island. If Azula continued pursuing her interest in the Kyoshi Warriors it was only a matter of time before she went to the island itself. Suki did not want Azula there without her.

Sokka, Toph, Katara and Zuko would have to wait. She needed to protect her island, and if that meant getting on Azula's good side and getting an invite to be Azula's tour guide to Kyoshi Island, then so be it. Suki was willing to do whatever it took to protect her people.

"Captain."

Think and she shall appear.

Suki sat up, having earned the right to not be in chains each time Azula came to visit her. Which, granted, wasn't often, but usually took place in her metal cell. Suki was not willing to test her theory that heating up the cell enough would result in literally cooking her.

"Should I be bowing?" Suki quips, her gaze taking in everything about Azula.

"That would make it easier to kick you in the face," Azula comments.

Suki's mind rattles off everything about Azula today. Same scar as before, though it looks more healed. Likely won't heal much more. Hair is pulled back. Wearing only the Fire Lord regalia. Armoured. Daggers in boots, shuriken in sleeves, small firearm in back of belt. She's more armed than previous visits. Perhaps she's beginning to trust Suki more and therefore believes that she can risk carrying more weapons Suki could, conceivably, use?

Suki doubts that's it. Azula is likely simply more confident in her ability to beat Suki before Suki can grab one of her weapons.

Azula seems more relaxed than previous visits. Her scar probably isn't hurting her as much. Her plans are likely all in good places. She's probably simply…happy.

That is a frightening thought.

"Your new team," Azula explains, handing her the same tablet as all her other "missions". After the success of the Komodo-Rhinos mission, Azula had been giving her new missions to lead about every week.

Suki flips through the bios of each team member. A waterbender, firebender, earthbender, and two nonbenders including herself. The nonbender that is not her is trained as Ty Lee is, interestingly enough.

Suki wonders briefly if she might ever get the chance to learn Ty Lee's method of fighting. It would be useful, temporarily taking away bending.

"You're to make up a collection of standard battle strategies with simple variations. Your enemies are in there," Azula explains.

Suki flips to the file on the enemies. Mostly benders, unsurprisingly. She wonders who the people behind the codenames are.

"Understood?" Azula questions.

"Understood," Suki answers automatically. "How long do I have?"

"Two weeks."

Azula leaves.

Suki starts reading about the enemy firebenders.

At least this is something to do.

* * *

**The Republic, Earth Kingdom, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Vipassi 8, 104 ASC – 13:22 WET**

Mai's eyebrows pinch together as she finishes the last sentence of the instructions then sets it down. She leans back, ignoring the voice of her mother at the back of her head chiding her for slumping.

She's tired.

She's fine being in charge of stuff. She can do it. She knows how to lead, politically speaking, thanks to her parents, and generally one of her glares can get anyone to do anything. But it's tiring, being in charge of a secret literally underground city thanks to the same person who threw her in prison.

This latest set of instructions are…odd to say the least. But, she should follow them. Mai is well-aware of the fact that if she messes up Azula will not hesitate to throw her back in prison and leave the leadership of The Republic to some other person who undoubtedly does not have the same experience Mai does in dealing with Azula directly. Which is, let's face it, most of what her job currently is.

Despite the direct contact with Azula, direct as in through the Fire Nation's Intranet and various communiqués with the rare face-to-face meeting, Mai still cannot for the life of her figure out what Azula is doing. These most recent instructions just add another level of "what why" to the odd-smelling tea.

She could have, ages ago, if she was upset by how her father governed, just kill the man. Mai knows Azula is upset with how her father governs, because she knows that despite Zuko's claim that Azula said they should burn the Earth Kingdom's "hope" and crops to the ground, Azula would never order something so idiotic that would give her less people to rule over. Azula likes commanding people. She frequently made the claim when they were kids that being Fire Lord meant having people to reign over, meant having people to command, meant having their lives in your hands, meant having an enormous responsibility. A responsibility that Azula obviously wanted, if not to prove to her sexist relatives and the sexist Ministers that she could do it, then simply because she liked having enormous responsibilities. She got a kick out of being relied on, out of being in command. Despite all the stress that came with being a world leader she loved doing it. So why, Mai had to wonder, would Azula ever bother to order a literal Scorched Earth policy that would inevitably lead to mass deaths that would lessen the amount of people who relied on Azula and who were commanded by Azula?

Mai can understand Azula ordering a literal Scorched Earth on farmland after moving the people living there to another place to make sure they didn't wind up dead. Destroying peoples' crops but having the same amount of people to feed would present a challenge for Azula. Overcoming a food shortage would be just the sort of challenge Azula would relish.

Mai really cannot accept that Azula would suggest a literal Scorched Earth upon the people of the Earth Kingdom. That was obviously Ozai twisting Azula's idea to suit his personal needs because Ozai was not at all about commanding people. He was all about ruling on a throne of flames and burning everything in his path. He could rule well enough, sure, but he had no patience for challenges like those that Azula relished – such as taking over the Earth Kingdom without an army, or solving a food shortage crises – instead he just burned everything.

Azula wasn't fond of how her father governed, Mai was sure of that. But why hasn't Azula just killed the man yet? Azula can do that, logistically speaking, she has enough people following her and until recently Ozai hasn't been able to do much to defend himself against an attack from his daughter.

Maybe Azula just can't bring herself to orchestrate the murder of the man who raised her. Mai could believe that. She doesn't like it, at all, but she can believe that.

Maybe she should just kill Ozai. It would be quicker, at this rate. Although, that would still leave the problem of Ozai's followers.

Nothing about what Azula has been doing for the past four years has added up. She's kept her enemies – the Avatar, Katara, Toph, even Zuko – alive. She's palling around with Chief Arnook. She's making stupid decisions that result in her father burning half her face off, which then resulted in Zuko disappearing for a week until Mai finally found the idiot and dragged him back home and started trying to convince him that no it wasn't his fault his sister got half her face burned off like he did. She's building up the Earth Kingdom technologically and militarily, although without firearms. There's a rumour that former Earth King Kuei is still alive despite his bear being dead, which is, frankly, the most bizarre thing Mai has heard since being given The Republic job. Why can't monarchs ever just stay dead?

The only possible reason Mai can see for Azula having kept all these people alive is that Azula doesn't expect the current world order, with the Phoenix King in charge of everything, to last. As such, she recognizes the fact that there are very few people capable of taking the throne of the Earth King or the throne of the Fire Lord when the world order falls, so she needs backups. Namely, in the forms of Zuko – the only person besides Ozai right now with a legitimate claim to the throne of the Fire Lord – and Kuei – quite literally the only person on the entire world with a legitimate claim to the throne of the Earth King.

That is also, frankly, bizarre to Mai because Azula loves challenges. Keeping the current world order from falling seems like it would be exactly the type of challenge Azula would sink her nails into. Much like the food shortage scenario.

Then, just to add another level of weirdness to Azula's actions, she's sent in _this_ bizarre set of instructions.

Mai stares at the piece of paper, as if trying to will it to explain to her what is going on in Azula's mind. It doesn't work.

Mai sighs, throws a knife at the opposite wall painted with a bulls-eye – it's an alternative to throwing her knives at peoples' heads, she claimed – then stands.

An hour later Mai is wishing for the ability to soundbend because Aang is currently still freaking out. Something is apparently off with the planet, he can feel it, which is concerning but Mai is more occupied by Azula quite frankly. Katara is snapping questions about Azula's motivations _and_ Mai's motivations with Toph only adding fuel to Katara's fire. Toph is butting into conversations when she's not egging on Katara, muttering about how she doesn't mind being underground but she really wants to beat some people up. Zuko is snapping at Katara and Toph, trying, vainly, to support Mai and Azula and legitimize the new instructions.

She feels Haru look at her. At least he's keeping quiet and actually thinking before speaking unlike _certain other people _she could mention.

Mai tilts her head and gestures with one of her hands to the rest of the group. Haru's brow furrows then he nods, understanding flashing in his eyes.

The earth beneath the chairs of the others suddenly snap up and the others shriek, grabbing their chairs to try and keep from falling off the pillars.

Haru lowers the pillars and says, his calm voice a blessing in the room, "The Republic hasn't fallen yet, though it has had its chances. Maybe we should listen to her."

Mai nods to him in thanks and repeats the instructions she had recited moments ago, "Azula wants you each to train successors for your nation's representatives. That is all she told me. I can assume though, that she expects you all to be doing something else soon." Her eyes narrow, keeping them silent. She rests her eyes on Toph, the only one at the table not a representative.

"There are no other Air Nomads though," Aang protests. "Who could be my…successor?"

"Just get one of the Air Acolytes to take over."

"They're not Air Nation though. They're just…learning my peoples' philosophy. They don't represent the Air Nation; they won't ever. They'll just…know some stuff about it."

"Ask Azula about it," Zuko suggests, glancing at Mai.

Mai remains silent, rather doubting that Azula is going to care that the Acolytes aren't of the Air Nation.

"This could be Azula wanting to pick people she knows she can manipulate," Katara protests after a moment of silence. "She knows she can't manipulate us like some other people."

"She's asking you to pick your successors personally. She's only getting involved by telling you to do this," Mai points out.

Katara frowns, "She's the one who determines who comes here in the first place though."

"Why wouldn't she have appointed people other than you then to be the reps?"

Katara sighs, "Okay, so maybe it's not to manipulate them, but if she wants new reps then what's happening to us?"

A murmur of agreement spreads through the table.

"I don't know," Mai admits. "She could have slaughtered everyone in the Earth Palace when she took over the Earth Kingdom, but she didn't. She took it over without killing anyone."

"Jet died," Toph points out.

"By Long Feng's hand," Mai says. "He killed Jet while trying to stopAzula. She killed no one."

"It was in the same situation," Toph argues.

"By that definition you could say that you were also responsible for Jet's death. You were in the same situation, doing the same thing Long Feng was trying to do. You were trying to stop Azula."

Toph opens her mouth, looking ready to shout.

"Look, this is a bad situation," Zuko says, cutting Toph off before she gets a chance to speak. "But Azula hasn't done anything yet without a purpose."

"Creating The Republic had a purpose beyond trapping us underground?" Katara snorts.

"It's brought together a lot of people who hate Ozai," Aang points out. "People who would have been killed by Ozai instantly otherwise."

"Exactly," Zuko nods. "And I doubt she thinks much of him right now after he did this," he gestures to his scar covered by faux flesh, "to her." He speaks quickly, answering Katara's question before it's asked, "She wouldn't be trying to do what I did. She wouldn't try to earn anything back. That isn't how she works. When someone scars her, she incinerates them in return. She doesn't look for forgiveness, or for their love. She recognizes instantly that they are her enemy and she treats them like one."

"Then why hasn't she killed you yet?" asks Katara. "You challenged her for the throne. You nearly beat her. Why hasn't she killed you yet?"

Zuko falls silent. He has no answer.

Mai answers, "He's not a threat."

Zuko crosses his arms stiffly.

"Ozai is a threat. He has always been a threat. He has experience, he has an army, he has followers, he's the one who helped train her in combat and strategy," Mai lists off. "Zuko is just her older brother. He doesn't have superior experience in comparison to her. He doesn't have an army. He doesn't have followers beyond those in the Republic and a few pockets of people topside, and not only did he never train her but he never even trained with her."

Zuko explains with a sigh, "Azula was always better than me at firebending and combat. She advanced quicker than I did in everything."

"Except swords," Mai says.

Zuko nods, "Except swords. That was the one thing I was better than her in."

"Plus," Mai says, "Ozai is her father."

Zuko stares at the ground, his jaw tightening.

"She was never close to her mother, Ursa. She always thought that Ursa thought she was a monster-"

"What?" Zuko looks up sharply, staring at Mai.

"Azula said once, when we were kids, that her mother called her a monster," Mai explains. "Ty Lee and I didn't think that she was lying then."

"Mom never…"

"It doesn't matter what you think Ursa thought of Azula, or what Ursa actually thought of Azula. The point is that Azula thought Ursa hated her and considered her lesser in comparison to you. So, Azula latched onto the only other parent, the parent that thought there was nothing wrong with her, the parent that she thought liked her."

"Our Dad," Zuko leans over, his face in his hands.

"Ozai raised her. He taught her nearly everything she knows. And that influence only increased after you," Mai gestures to Zuko, "were banished."

"He's pure evil," says Katara, "but he's still her dad. Does she love him? Er, _can_ she love him?"

"Maybe."

"Of course she does!" Zuko shouts. "He burned off half of my face and I still traveled across the entire world to try and earn back his love! Why wouldn't she – _Spirits._"

He stalks out of the room.

"Zuko!"

"Don't," Mai orders, stopping Aang in his tracks. "I'll deal with him. You all need to figure out successors."

**23:12 WET**

_FWOOM!_

Mai ducks and rolls and the flames extinguish where her torso had been.

Zuko shouts, "Are you alright? I didn't-"

"Fine," Mai says, straightening up nonplussed. "I expected that."

Zuko deflates slightly. He wraps his arms around her impulsively, hugging her tightly, "Sorry."

"You're sweaty," she comments, wrinkling her nose in distaste.

He pulls away, apologizing, and grabs a towel to dry off.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" she says as he sits on the edge of the training field.

He looks up at her questioningly.

"You're not responsible for your sister," she explains. "She can take care of herself."

"I know she can take down anyone," Zuko sighs, resting his face in his hands. "But she's my little sister, I can't just…our dad did the same thing to her that he did to me. I know what that's like. It's…terrifying. You're supposed to be able to look up to your dad, to trust him with your life, but when he burns you like that…you know, logically, you can't look up to him, you shouldn't trust him, but everything else tells you to trust him and look up to him because he's your father. Your instincts don't listen to your mind."

Mai remains silent as she sits beside him.

"When Azula was born I don't remember much but I do remember being excited. I wouldn't be the youngest anymore." Zuko stares at the ground, "Mom told me that it was gonna be my job to look after my little sister, to make sure she didn't get pushed around. Heh – don't think she was expecting Azula to turn out the way she did. But…before Azula started really…being Azula I basically lived by that idea. You know how Azula used to throw bread at the Turtle-Ducks?"

When Mai nods he continues, "When we were younger I taught her how to throw rocks like that. How to skip them in water and stuff. We weren't very good, she was only two or three and I was about five." He sighs, "Even after that attempted kidnapping and after Dad started training her personally I tried to keep doing what I did before. I showed her the best way to get into the kitchens without getting caught to get candy. She was always better at sneaking than me. Smaller, she could hide in more places. That…stopped eventually though. Dad found out most of what we did and kept a lot of it from happening again." He comments bitterly, "Guess he didn't want my ineptitude rubbing off on her."

He leans on his knees and after a long moment questions, "Do you think people are born liars? Born to just…never tell the truth?"

Mai frowns, "Maybe."

"If they aren't, then that means that Azula learned how to lie from someone," Zuko says. "Dad didn't spend much time with us when we were kids. Prince stuff, I guess, and I don't think he liked…people, much less kids. So she probably learned how to lie from either Mom or me."

"You're a terrible liar."

"It was probably Mom then, wasn't it?"

"I didn't know your Mom well."

"I don't think I did either, if she called Azula a monster. Do you think she did?"

"I don't know. Azula could be scary to people, even as a kid, but then again kids aren't exactly the most morally-sound people out there. Just look at the kids around here. They lie, they cheat, they play dangerous games, they try to shoot apples off one another's heads, they plot, and it's because they don't understand that the games are dangerous, or that you can only lie in certain situations, or that while you can plot you shouldn't plot to bring down someone just because you don't like them."

"I knew that firebending an apple off your head was dangerous," Zuko objects.

"Yeah, but we were eight-years-old then. You were something like ten, eleven. That seems to be a large difference for kids."

"I should be helping her," Zuko sighs.

"She doesn't need your help there," Mai says. "Just do what she asks. That's help enough."

* * *

**Fire Nation Palace, Royal Caldera City, Fire Nation, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Pyrphorosa 1, 104 ASC – 10:48 CPT**

The recording of the battle between Yakone and Toph remains on Azula's mind. She had finally managed to get it and see it two weeks ago so it should have left her mind by now, but it remains nagging.

Turns out, Yakone is a bloodbender. Toph was telling the truth. Azula does not want to see what Yakone could do if he decided that she was an enemy, thus, the spy monitoring Yakone. He'll be watched and if necessary she will deal with him.

She needs to remember that because right now she cannot be distracted. Ozai is in the Fire Nation for the celebration of the Fire Lord's entry into adulthood, officially.

Tomorrow, her birthday, is an important day. She already has complete command over the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, or, as much as possible with Ozai reigning above her, so turning 18 and becoming and adult is not important because of that. It's important for the simple fact that she is turning 18. She was never restricted before, as Fire Lord and Earth Queen, but for the Fire Nation turning 18 is a moment of great celebration and honour.

She's survived 18 years, most of which were engulfed in war. Azula figures she deserves a celebration centered completely around her, with entertainers to entertain her specifically, not her guests. With a banquet of all her favourite foods. With all attention on her. With the right to finally wear the gold at her throat that was usually used to identify women of the Fire Nation as of a legal age. She is going to be up early tomorrow, having her nails redone, her feet buffed, her hair combed and piled up in the traditional style, and a slash of red spread across her lips. It would be the largest celebration in the Fire Nation this year.

Ty Lee's birthday celebration already paled in comparison. As expected. Ty Lee's excited for this celebration. As expected.

For now though, in the day before, Ozai has demanded they spar.

He looks different, stronger. Azula's eyes pass over him critically, taking in the shine of his hair – thick again, not lank and deficient of everything good – and while there are still circles beneath his eyes they are not as noticeable. The sceptre must be healing him. Strengthening him. Giving him the push to do what he truly wants to do.

Azula knows that burning is all he's ever wanted to do since becoming Fire Lord and then Phoenix King. She doesn't want him to do that.

She stands across from him in a pair of loose training pants tied below the knees with additional padding at the shins that, really, does nothing, and a bandeau across her chest. Her hair is up in a topknot with the symbol of the Fire Lord stuck through it, and she's confident that her lipstick is not smudged. Ozai, across from her, is in the same style of training pants, lacks a shirt, and has his hair up in a similar topknot with the symbol of the Phoenix King stuck through it. He's smirking. Azula doesn't like it when her father smirks. He's planning something.

The battles begins regularly enough. Ozai's attacks are, as usual, filled with more ferocity behind them, his flames are larger, his shouts are more intense, and he laughs every so often with the adrenaline from the movements. Azula's attacks are, as usual, more precise, her flames are smaller, she's quiet save for her breath, and the adrenaline from her movements gathers in her body like a spring awaiting the perfect moment.

Popular assumptions made about the father and daughter pair are that their fighting styles are similar. They are, in some respects. For one they usually make an attempt to manipulate their opponent, attack them mentally or emotionally with taunts and similar. For another they are always calculating risks and possible movements. But a combination of their personalities and their builds has made their fighting styles notably different. Ozai prefers to use brute force whereas Azula prefers to use her opponent's movements against him. Ozai is stronger and Azula is quicker.

Their matches are always interesting to watch, with their similarities melding together and their differences clashing, all influenced by the knowledge gathered from having trained with or under their opponent for years. The familiarity with their opponent's style is unavoidable so they are forced, constantly, to strike with something unexpected.

This match is different though. Azula can tell that from the fourth stream of fire that plumes from her father's heel and arcs toward her.

His flames had been strong when he had them before but now…they're stronger. They may not be blue but they rival her flames in intensity and speed.

That is not normal.

Azula dodges a blast of flame that tickles her scalp. She retaliates with cobalt plumes of flame that arc toward him as if feathers of Svahango's legendary phoenix. He grabs the burning blue feathers and twists, gathering them around himself as citrine ropes of Agni that sharply whip out towards her, threatening to add another burn scar to her developing collection. She darts to the side, twisting her foot low. The blue that streams with her foot burns inches from the ground.

Ozai jumps, avoiding the arc of flames, and lands on the ground with the ashes splintering beneath his feet. He twists and flames erupt from around his feet, twisting up into infernos the size of a peasant's house. Azula's eyes widen and she slams her hands down, slicing the infernos in half to let them whisper away, warm. Those infernos were too large.

Ozai darts forward, riding on flames that erupt from his palms and feet.

_Flames erupt from Azula's hands and feet, rising her into the air. She surfs on the flames and heat, around little Zuzu, lifting her hands every so often to send infernos leaping towards Zuko. She needs to end this._

Azula crouches in a familiar move she had seen across the training field more times than she could count. In a move she had glimpsed while surfing on her cobalt comet-powered flames. Her feet whip out around her body. But Ozai's not her.

He leaps, catches himself on his hands, and rolls to his feet.

_The flames break her movement and she hits the ground, hard, bouncing, and rolls. Everything hurts._

Then he's forward and he's too close. He grabs her wrist and her bones grind together in his iron grasp.

Instinctive fear joins an instinctive attack in her bones. She twists up, jabbing her nails in the soft part of his forearm, between tendons. He's grasp on her wrist loosens instinctively, giving her enough room to twist up and use his strength to her advantage, twisting over his forearm and leaping over his shoulder with a burst of cobalt beneath her feet. She lands low and moves immediately onto her hands, arching up and over before turning sharply, a flame dagger spawning on her dirt-stained nails. She stills. An ochre flame licks at her throat and she can feel her father's bicep against the back of her forearm, outstretched, with an ice-hot dagger at the end of her ash-stained nails. A dagger identical, save for the colour, to the one flickering from her father's larger fingers and brushing across her throat like little more than a wisp of wind.

Their eyes don't leave one another, both waiting for the final strike and unwilling to let the other kill them without watching the life leave their eyes.

_Not today._

The unspoken communication, borne from years of training and competition, flutters between them as unassuming as a firefly.

The complementary daggers are extinguished and the father and daughter step back, moving reflexively into the traditional bow.

Azula remains unnerved by the power of her father's flames when she returns to her regular clothing and meets up with Loki before heading to her meeting with her Ministers. Loki, irritatingly enough, smirks when she orders him to play nice with Ozai, get on his good side, and report everything back to her.

"You do realize you will be relying on me?" Loki questions. "And that I will be far from your eyes?"

"I am aware," Azula responds caustically.

"You have no choice, don't you?"

Her silence is answer enough.

Loki doesn't mind the non-response or the caustic reply. At least this has shaken her up a bit. Even the prank two weeks ago when he used magic to make her think her hair was bright blue when it in fact was not, barely shook her up from the arena of comfort she had been playing in since her meetings with that Suki girl. She did threaten to murder him, but that had been expected and she would not have followed through with such an impulsively-made and final threat. Pranking her with such superficial things as her hair colour rarely throw her entirely off-balance. Apparently, to ensure she remains not entirely comfortable, he must merely put her in the same room as her father.

Good to know.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm baaaack. Updates again sporadic because I have multiple term papers and projects to work on. Bah, _school_.

Look at me, being all sneaky about recaps by shoving it all in a critique by a new background-for-now character.

The system of the Kyoshi Warriors always confused me. Why would you only have a team of what appear to be solely teenage girls, protecting your island? What happened to the girls before them who grew up? Who is protecting the island now that Suki and her team are gone? Why are there no benders in their ranks? What do the benders on the island do? It seems to be a matrilineal society so what's up with the male leader and what would they think of the rest of the Earth Kingdom which seems to be dominantly patrilineal? So I tried to explain it. Plus, I really like Suki and she's super-important for nonbender representation here so naturally more Suki was going to result.

In news that surprises no one, Yakone creeps me out, Zuko is stressing, and yes there are many people against the current world order but that doesn't mean they're any more right than the people they're objecting to. Also, I am terrible at deliberately writing sexist articles.

Vipassi – May (refers to a person who is a regular practitioner of Vipassana, meditation into the true nature of reality)

Pyrphorosa – June (from the goddess Hekate's name Pyrphoros which means 'fire-bearer' and is used to refer to the beginning of summer)

New Ozai – formerly Omashu, then New Ozai, then Omashu again. Now it's back to New Ozai and I feel very sorry for its residents to have to keep up with the constant name changes.

**Thanks!**


	10. Chapter 9

**Rating: M**

_Avatar: The Last Airbender, Legend of Korra, and The Avengers do not belong to me. I am merely mixing together the sandboxes._

**Warnings: AU; **_**[see Chapter Warnings]**_

**Synopsis: When your own flames burn you but you're too stubborn to fall, your only option is to walk through the flames. Or, in which Azula meets another second-born and throws her planet into the world of intergalactic war. Azula-centric.**

* * *

_**Chapter Warning(s): classism, sexism**_

* * *

**Second-Born**

"_The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him."_

Niccolo Machiavelli

**Chapter 9**

* * *

**Fire Nation Palace, Royal Caldera City, Fire Nation, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Pyrphorosa 2, 104 ASC – 21:46 CPT**

The celebration is less entertaining than Azula had hoped.

She supposes that has something to do with the fact that her father is present.

For her past birthday celebrations her father granted her a collection of objectively odd gifts. One year, she received the leadership of the Rough Rhinos. When she turned eleven she received her late mother's entire wardrobe. She never touched that gift, simply had it burned, and she knew from her father's expression when he found out what she had done with the gift that he approved of her actions. He always approved of any action Azula made to remove Princess Ursa's pull on the Royal Family.

The year after that she had received a dagger her father had used when he was a teenager. The dagger had originally been made for Iroh, the Prince of the Fire Nation, the eldest son, but Iroh had granted it to Ozai before he left the Fire Nation for his first official visit to the Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom. The dagger had been made especially for the Prince of the Fire Nation, the heir to the title of Fire Lord. She kept that dagger in a place of honour and wore it at her waist. Only the nobility understood what it meant. Ozai had, by giving her the blade, unofficially named her his heir. The significance of that act had been huge among the Fire Nation nobility, as shortly before she had received the gift Prince Zuko had been burned and sent off on a fool's errand, and as such his status as the heir to the throne had been put into question in whispers amongst the Court. Giving Azula the dagger meant for the heir was a quiet assurance of what was to pass years later.

Traditionally, she would receive gold, jewels, something pretty and expensive, from her parents. With her father though, the same man who had given her sole, uncontested leadership over a deep-cover Fire Nation group called the Rough Rhinos, Azula knew she couldn't count on tradition. For all she knew he could wind up giving her the entire Northern Water Tribe as a gift.

Azula sits above the crowd of celebrating peasants – objectively, nobility and peasants, but she was the Fire Lord, the only person above her was the Phoenix King, and the only person with a comparable status to her was the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe so Azula figures that she's free to identify everyone else as a peasant. There are performers below amongst the peasants. Ty Lee's old circus is around and has performances set up throughout the city. There are dancers and musicians, and firebenders who create magnificent forms with their flames – one was a phoenix, which she had difficulty appreciating as her father identified with the iconography of the phoenix more so than herself; she preferred the dragons. There are even poets who marvel over her beauty, her youth and her flames.

She's a little irritated that no one bothers to marvel over the fact that she has made history more times than anyone else on this world. There's little attention paid to her military accomplishments, her conquering of the Earth Kingdom – never before conquered, a fact many seem to forget, and she did it without actually killing anyone, which is not as easy as it sounds and, again, everyone seems to forget – or her defeat of the Avatar – twice! She defeated the most powerful person on the planet twice! – or the fact that even with protests from the Earth Kingdom's people she has managed to rule over them as Earth Queen with minimal losses. No attention is even paid to the fact that she is the first legally recognized and broadly accepted woman to be declared Fire Lord.

No. It's all about her beauty and her youth and her firebending.

"This is so much fun!" Ty Lee declares, bounding up next to Azula lying barefooted across a pile of crimson and gold pillows. "I just did an impromptu performance for a group of kids and they loved it! They want to learn how to walk on the high wire now!"

"Wonderful," Azula grunts and swirls the liquor in her cup absently. It's the same cup she's had all night. She's not one to willingly risk losing complete control of herself, even in the spirit of "partying."

"What's wrong?" Ty Lee asks, her eyes flicking to the com-link in Azula's ear as she reaches past the Fire Lord and plucks a grape from one of the trays the servants held. "You should be having fun, it's your birthday!"

Azula looks down at the crowd of peasant men and boys who seem to be the latest of Ty Lee's admirers. Azula takes advantage of the secured locale and the inability of virtually everyone to get a good look at her face at the moment and scowls darkly.

Ty Lee follows her gaze and looks down at the peasant men and boys. She sighs then leans back so they cannot see her as well. She looks at Azula, "I took them out earlier."

"I will get them," Azula raises her hand to gesture back to the Imperial Firebenders flanking her current position, "to kick those peasants out."

"Oh no! No, it's alright," Ty Lee assures her, causing Azula's hand to still. "They're nice enough, just a little…aggressive." She shrugs, "I can deal with them."

"They're out."

Azula snaps her raised fingers and four of the Imperial Firebenders immediately move back and down to the street level. Within moments Ty Lee and Azula are watching as the Imperial Firebenders forcibly drag the men and boys out.

"I like this shirt," comments Ty Lee, looking down at the strapless, midriff-baring red shirt with the gold detailing that gave an impressive view of her cleavage, "but all they stare at are my breasts."

"Wear what you want," Azula says sharply. "They're idiots if all they see about a woman are her breasts."

Ty Lee smiles, "You never said it, but I think you always thought that I was smarter than people think I am."

"I have no patience for idiots."

"I know. C'mon, you should have some fun," Ty Lee urges, gripping Azula's wrist. "We'll get you a gorgeous man to hook up with."

Azula snorts, "I am Fire Lord. I could have sex with anyone here."

"Yeah, but you should at least think the person's attractive."

"What have you been doing anyway?"

"Performing, but I told you that already. I've gotten a lot of free drinks."

Azula raises an eyebrow, "You already get free everything."

"Yeah, I know, because you _love_ me," Ty Lee grins broadly.

Azula ignores that and instead questions, "Why are the free beverages remarkable?"

"Because people bought them for me," Ty Lee explains. "Yeah, so, I got free stuff, I ate a lot of junk food, hung out with some of my circus friends, got a jerk off one of my sisters' cases, and now I'm here."

"What sister?"

"Bao Yu. She was working on the station for that new fighter that people are being toured inside."

"Ah, the engineer-in-training."

"Yeah, and some jerk decided to hang out there hoping that she'd give him the time of day. He wouldn't back off, just kept making these awful comments. So I showed up with the rest of our sisters, Chu-hua, Lin-Lin, Ming and Ying, and at first it didn't really work, he was so drunk and seemed to think that all of us would sleep with him, for some reason, but we got him to back off after I removed his ability to control the lower half of his body. He soiled himself there."

Azula smirks, "What was his name?"

"He got dragged away by Ming's husband and some of his fellow soldiers. I think he's scared of me now."

"That will work in Bao Yu's favour, considering you are identical. I doubt he will be able to distinguish the difference between the woman he had been pushing his advances on and the woman who made him soil himself in public."

"That's true!" Ty Lee brightens.

"Have you-" Azula stops as she senses the approach of another. She doesn't move her eyes from the partying occurring below them as the servant stops slightly behind and beside her.

"Fire Lord," the woman says softly.

"What is it?"

"The Phoenix King, his majesty, wishes to present you with your gift now. He requests your presence on the presentation balcony."

"Is Loki with him?"

"Yes, Fire Lord. He has not left the Phoenix King's side."

"You are dismissed."

The woman bows then retreats quickly.

Azula throws back the liquor then stands and slips her feet into her sandals, "Come on Ty Lee. Let's see what the almighty Phoenix King deems worthy of being a gift for the Fire Lord."

The Imperial Firebenders flank the two women as they stride down the corridors towards the presentation balcony where the monarchy has traditionally made its announcements. Since the development of the Intranet through the Fire Nation Military and the screens created to project images and videos upon the balcony has been outfitted with such tech to make even those not privileged enough to witness the announcement firsthand witnesses to it through the massive screens.

Phoenix King Ozai is in his semi-casual robes. They clearly define his status as the ruler of the world, and he's even holding a drink covered with flames, flames that he clearly supplied himself.

Standing beside him is Loki in the professional attire of one of the Phoenix King's noble followers, a follower slowly gaining points with Ozai who is clearly on Ozai's list for potential right-hands.

"You have no idea," Ozai states as Azula takes her place beside him, leaving Ty Lee and Loki behind them.

"That would be the point of a gift, Father," she retorts as one of her maidservants quickly makes a small fix to her hair and makeup and attaches the small microphone to the top of her shirt.

Ozai smirks and downs the drink in one go. One of his servants fixes his hair for him, adds some concealer beneath his eyes – does he have bags under his eyes again? – adds on a microphone, then steps away as Azula's maidservant did. The golden carved doors swing open once the Imperial Firebenders and the Phoenix King's guards take their positions both within the palace, upon the balcony and in the crowd, and give the all-clear. The Phoenix King strides forward first with the orator making his announcement, "Phoenix King Ozai!"

Azula watches silently, her body in shadows due to how far back the doors are from the front of the presentation balcony where Ozai will be standing. He makes his brief speech, about the might of the Fire Nation, how the Fire Lord has – with his guidance of course, which Azula silently scoffs at – done the impossible, and how this is a _very special day_.

"Fire Lord Azula!"

She steps onto the balcony to the cheers of the populace. Ozai smirks at her as she comes to a stop beside him.

She says the typical fluff piece, what a great party, everyone is having fun, this is an exciting time, the Fire Nation is awesome. Typical fluff, and everyone on the balcony knows it.

"I do believe it is time for me to present you with your gift," says Ozai, able to play the crowd to cheers as usual regardless of what he says. It's a skill he picked up from his father.

She hopes it isn't the Northern Water Tribe. Chief Arnook isn't here, and she would prefer that if she were to be given command over his people that it be while she could see his face.

Ozai's smirk twists as he turns to the golden doors and declares, "A fitting gift for a young woman, I think!"

Azula turns to the golden doors where Ty Lee and Loki are standing just beyond them. Ozai puts a hand on her shoulder and pulls Azula to stand beside him as a lone servant walks through the golden doors carrying a piece of papyrus.

The golden doors close and Azula takes the papyrus offered to her by the servant. She unfurls the roll and raises her eyebrows at the image upon it. It is a painting done of a great statue. A statue of her. It emphasizes her blue flames, her connection to Svahango, to death, and the crown of the Fire Lord stuck through her topknot is large and shining. She is wearing a crown of flames and sparking from her nails are lengths of lightning, sharp blues and whites. Her lips are twin slashes of blood, calm while her eyes are glimmering with bonfires defiant in the pounding rain. Her scar is stretching up, somehow beautiful despite the twist of her flesh amongst it, and it unleashes a fury that makes it seem as though she is burning from the inside. She isn't wearing her armour or the robes of the Fire Lord. Instead, she is garbed in flames and lightning painted harsh contrasts of red and white and orange and blue. Stretching from her body are flames and lightning, magnificent gleaming lengths that wind together to create nets.

It's magnificent. She is magnificent.

"It has been under construction for a few months," Ozai explains. "It is in Businiao but will be transported to the Fire Nation soon."

"How large?" she questions, her eyes wide.

He smirks, "It is to replace the Gates of Azulon."

Her eyes flick to him sharply and she quickly conceals her surprise. Her father's hatred of Azulon was well known to her but to remove the Gates of Azulon and replace them with her is unprecedented. Even worse is that he made the decision to replace the Gates of Azulon with her own visage without her input. He made the decision to change her country without consulting with her. That is infuriating.

Azula smiles, recognizing the meaning of the flames and lightning upon the statue easily, well aware that they are a way of legitimizing her claim to the throne while simultaneously making it appear as though the position of Fire Lord is something beneath her. Just as the Phoenix King is one of the Spirits, having been brought back from the ashes of his defeat at the hands of a child, so is she that mighty. She was never brought back, no, but she was still mighty. She simply existed, spreading her flames wherever she stepped, and the only one capable of standing in her flames, capable of controlling them, was and remains only the Phoenix King. Just as in legend one of the only creatures able to withstand the flames and lightning of Agni and Svahango was the Phoenix. The other was the Dragon and Fire Lords are Dragons by simply the position they hold. Ozai was already a Dragon. Now, as a Phoenix, he is her only superior.

"Thank-you, Father," the Fire Lord says smoothly. "This will be magnificent."

The Phoenix King and Fire Lord give their words to the crowd below. No one shouts in protest at the Gates of Azulon being replaced by the visage of a girl barely a woman. She deserves her mark to be on the Fire Nation in more than simply a statue of her firebending set in Caldera City.

The Gates of Azula will indeed be glorious, Azula is positive of that. She remains though, as she strides back through the golden doors, infuriated by her father's stark disregard for her command over her nation's territory.

He does not have control over the Fire Nation. He gave that up the moment he decided he wanted to command the world.

* * *

**Chief's Home, Northern Water Tribe, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Pyrphorosa 17, 104 ASC – 23:18 N-WET**

Sokka glowers at the table. He wants to hit something. Someone. Train with a sword. Anything. He can't do that now though. He is sitting across from Chief Arnook, whom has finally agreed to speak to him frankly.

Since traveling to the Northern Water Tribe Sokka has spent his time training with the warriors and being restricted from consulting with the Chief. He's been researching. Trying to find a reason why Chief Arnook was standing beside Azula and not doing anything about Azula beating him, Toph and Suki. About the fact that Azula killed his sister, killed Aang, killed Zuko. About the fact that Ozai's forces have been in the Southern Water Tribe and Azula's forces in the Northern for years now, watching for the sign of the next Avatar, waiting.

"The Fire Lord does not want our world to fall," Arnook explains.

"And I guess killing the Avatar isn't going to do that?" Sokka snorts, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest.

Arnook looks at him, his eyes sad and heavy, "Aang is not dead. If he were dead, Yue would know."

Sokka stills.

"My daughter and I have spoken only a few times since her sacrifice," Arnook says softly. "The first time we spoke after Sozin's Comet the Water Tribes were reeling. My people were terrified. Your people were terrified. I went to the Spirit Oasis and Yue came to me. She smiled. She smiled and said that she saw many pass into the Spirit World but none were Aang. The Avatar was not one of them. Aang lived and still lives, and Yue was certain that was due to the involvement of the Blue Lord."

"The Blue…Azula? Azula tried to kill Aang-"

"Exactly. _Tried._ She never succeeded." Arnook leans forward, "That girl conquered the entire Earth Kingdom, the largest nation on our world, in less than a month. She became the first person in history to conquer the Earth Kingdom. She is one of the few in history able to bend blue flames. I do not believe that Aang would have survived their first encounter, much less any of the following ones, if she truly wanted him dead."

"Then where is he?"

"Safe. Protected from Ozai."

"Aang's been training to defeat Ozai!"

"_Training_. That does not mean that he is ready to defeat the man," Arnook argues. "Azula believes that if the Avatar dies before his or her time, the world will fall apart. The Physical World's connection to the Spirit World will be completely severed and we would not be able to survive that separation. Azula, brutal and ruthless as she is, would prefer to rule over a nation that exists.

"Ozai, conversely, does not share Azula's belief. He is nowhere near as connected to the Spirit World as she is and is entirely absorbed by the idea of being able to burn everything to the ground. Being able to rule over everything and then, in an instant, destroy it."

"That what Azula told you?" Sokka asks sharply.

"Of her belief, yes. The rest is what I and my people have observed. Azula respects the spiritual. Her father does not. That, and the fact that he was entirely willing to have her killed, are why Azula is currently working against her father, working to bring him down."

"So she can be Phoenix King."

"Perhaps, but Ozai is the most powerful person on the planet right now, next to the Avatar, and the only thing that killing him will get us are his followers vengeance. If we manage to decimate everything about him, his followers, his kingship, and himself, then the vengeance of his numerous followers will not be something we will have to deal with."

"You don't just want Ozai dead. You want everything connected to him gone as well."

"Killing Ozai, as was your plan with the Avatar before, was decent, but it failed to take into account the fact that Ozai has followers and his followers are, by and large, some of the most powerful people on this world. If you bring down Ozai without bringing down his followers you are simply setting up room for his followers to retaliate."

"Don't his followers follow Azula too?"

"No. Not anymore."

"So where's Aang then? And if Aang is alive, is _my sister alive too_?"

"I…I don't know about Katara or Zuko."

Sokka curses and punches the table.

"You may be able to ask Yue."

Sokka rises sharply.

"Sokka!" Arnook stands. "I am afraid you will not be able to see her yet. Azula arrived earlier today and is conferring with my daughter."

"What?!"

**23:36 N-WET**

Yue observes the Warrior of Svahango with only a lingering trepidation from her mortal origins. She knows, if she had spent more time as a mortal, she would likely have not entered into discussions and debates about treaties and territory claims her people had, about the rights and dignities her people, all people, deserved. She would have been married and the traditions of her people stated clearly that her husband, the new Prince of the Northern Water Tribe, would have taken over nearly all of the non-ceremonial political duties.

He would have entered into discussions with the Fire Nation regarding treaties and territory claims of the Northern Water Tribe, regarding the rights and dignities his people should be afforded. Yue knew that her betrothed had been a great warrior. Skilled with his club and spear against the superior weapons of the Fire Nation: but.

Yue never said it: but.

He was rash and impulsive. He thrived on the edge, surrounded by impossible risks. He would have relished the challenge offered in bringing peace between the Northern Water Tribe and the Fire Nation. He would have entered the discussions and debates with gusto and enthusiasm unrivalled. But his grasp of politics was little. His understanding of persuasion was nonexistent. His willingness to respect the culture of the people of the Fire Nation was buried beneath furious layers of snow, ice, blizzards, and a bitter hatred for all things warm and red. Like many others, he found comfort in the familiar cold, blue and white tundra of his home. Heat and warmth and red were only ever immediately followed by the stench of burning flesh and the terrified cries of brothers-in-arms.

Heat. Fire. They were to be feared.

Respect was the last thing on his mind.

Yue marvelled, when she was young, over the fact that the young Princess of the Fire Nation had a name that referred to blue. Blue, she believed, at the young age of five, that the Princess across the Great Blue, across La, across the Ocean, was secretly a Princess of the Water Tribes. After all, blue was a Water Tribe colour. It was never, ever, a Fire Nation colour. Yet Princess Azula was called blue.

Young Yue believed that the instant they met they would be best friends. After all, she liked the colour blue – especially when she was bending water like Master Yugoda taught her – and surely, surely, Azula, the Blue Fire Nation Princess, liked blue. Plus, they were both Princesses so there wouldn't be any issues with them being friends, no mistaken statuses, no disrespect. They were equals.

Yue recalled being ten-years-old when the news of Fire Lord Azulon's death was announced to great joy by her father, the Chief. She recalled the addition, the footnote, of the Princess Ursa – a woman virtually unknown to the Northern Water Tribe – and her disappearance. All assumed her dead. She recalled the announcement of the second-born, of Prince Ozai ascending and becoming Fire Lord Ozai because his older brother, Prince and General Iroh – the Dragon of the West who hammered away at Ba Sing Se for 600 horrifying days – renounced his claim to the throne. Conflicted, Yue told Tui – the Spirit responsible for her life – that she was happy Fire Lord Azulon was dead, but she also felt sad. After all, her friend Princess Azula had lost her grandfather and her mother and Yue knew how hard it was to lose your mother.

Yue never told anyone of those conversations with Tui. She knew what people would say if they knew that she had created stories over the years, tales of meeting Princess Azula and them becoming the best of friends because they were both princesses and Yue knew how difficult it could be to be a princess, to be the person your people depended on for protection of not only their lives but their territory and culture. Princesses were always symbols of their people's prosperity and that was hard to be. And of course, because they both liked blue. She knew no one would understand why she did it. Azula would, Yue was certain. After all, she was a Princess too.

She would know. Being Princess was lonely.

By the time Yue was thirteen she had become the best child healer in the Northern Water Tribe. Her father said that Tui blessed her with more than life. She was blessed with a prodigal talent in waterbending. In healing.

Yue spent less time with Tui. More time instructing others how to heal and silently watching the boys and men practice their combat waterbending. She never wanted to learn combat waterbending, although she knew that across La the Fire Nation apparently taught its girls and women how to battle. Yue never wanted to battle. She imagined that Azula did though, if the expectation her people had of her was to uphold their culture and tradition – like Yue's people did – then surely, since her people trained their women to fight, Azula would fight as well. Surely, Azula would be one of the best warriors. After all, she had to represent her people. Uphold their traditions, their culture, their values and their might. Just as Yue did.

In that same year, Yue heard of Prince Zuko's banishment. It was called a mission, to what ends she didn't know then, but as it occurred after an Agni Kai where he reportedly had half of his face seared off by his own father it had to be a form of banishment. Yue wondered if fathers burning their sons was common in the Fire Nation. She wondered if the Fire Lord had ever burned the Princess.

She did learn, however, that Azula's name went deeper. Reports from her father's spies came in of the Princess of the Fire Nation being able to bend blue – azul – fire. The Fire Nation called those benders the Children of Azul. Children of Blue.

Yue thought that only the Water Tribes gave their people such names. Blue was, after all, Water Tribe, not Fire Nation. But the Princess of the Fire Nation, the person responsible for representing all of her people, her entire culture, could bend blue and white flames. Flames the colour of the tundra of the Northern Water Tribe. Flames the colour of water.

Yue couldn't bend red or orange water. She could bend blood though. As a healer only, of course. Only the healers learned blood bending because, sometimes, chi paths weren't enough, and to use blood bending in combat was…unimaginable. It was the most reprehensible thing a waterbender could do.

The Princess of the Fire Nation could bend fire the colours of the Water Tribes.

The Princess of the Northern Water Tribe could bend liquid the colours of the Fire Nation.

Electricity – lightning – could be used to restart a person's heart.

Water – ice – could be used to burn.

Captivated, Yue looked into the oral histories of her people for more evidence of cross-nation, cross-bending, effects or influences.

Something wasn't right. They were doing something wrong. She could feel it in her spirit.

It's easier now to feel that. To know that there is still wrongness in the world. A wrongness so staunchly entrenched in everything that to remove it would mean to turn the Great Element upside-down and inside-out.

Yue can feel Azula sitting in the Spirit Oasis, where years ago Yue herself had sacrificed her life to save not only her people but the entire world as well.

"Hello Azula," Yue says, descending to the Spirit Oasis, directly in front of where Azula sat.

Azula's eyes snap open. She stares at Yue for a long moment. Yue is hovering above the Spirit Oasis, all flowing, imaginary clothing, all whites and blues and purples, all moonlight, with only one indication of her mortal beginnings – her Princess perfect posture.

Azula exhales and blue flames whisper from between her lips, closing the distance between herself and the Saviour of the Great Element.

Yue smiles at the sight of the flames, the source of so many of her imaginary playdates and laughing at their father's advisors. Her immortal self has little choice but to allow her mortal self to take over and remark, "Svahango does that. Although, it is with lightning more often than naught."

The Fire Lord's eyes widen. Hastily, she replaces her surprise with the expression she learned to adopt when dealing with diplomats. Calm, unassuming and unrelenting.

"Do you know why I'm here?" Azula questions.

"Do you?"

Azula's gaze flicks to the fish, a piece of Yue and La, a very important piece, swimming in circles for as long as possible. The one time the circle was broken, when Tui was plucked from the Oasis and burned by an ambitious and angry firebender who refused to listen, the world was covered in nothing but red, the Moon vanished from the sky and the oceans and streams and rivers and lakes receded. Azula had watched from the Fire Nation Palace, her eyes wide, as the world was overtaken by red and Caldera City's bay retreated.

"There is no way for the Great Element to survive if one of its spirits is destroyed, is there? Even if that spirit is only in its physical form upon the Great Element, temporarily. Correct?" Azula inquires, staring up at Yue, making eye contact even though it chills her to her bones to make eye contact with the Moon herself.

"My mortal self and my immortal self remember everything together, except for when the sky turned red and La retreated. Only my mortal self remembers that. Red. Nothing but red. Like the blood I bent to heal, or the flames you once bent."

"You bend blood?"

"As a healer, yes, my mortal self did bend blood. Only healers are permitted to learn the art."

Azula falls silent.

Yue moves forward, one translucent hand reaching out and resting on Azula's shoulder, "I know what you fear-"

Azula doesn't try to claim that she doesn't fear. Such a claim would be fruitless when made against the Moon herself.

"And I know that you are confused, that although you claim to know exactly what you are doing you still doubt that what you do will work, that what you do will end in your own death, or the deaths of your people." Yue crouches in front of Azula, her hands clasped deceptively tightly upon the younger girl's shoulders for being a Spirit supposedly comprised of only moonlight, "You were born a princess, Azula. You were born with the duty to protect your people, to protect your nation, to protect your culture, and to do so against threats both internal and external. You were forbidden from participating in certain activities because you were Princess. You were forced into lessons with instructors you loathed because those lessons would instruct you in your people, your nation, your culture, and how to protect it, how to serve it for its greater interests. And now, you are Fire Lord and Earth Queen. You rule two nations, two peoples and two cultures. You have been granted twice the responsibility you were born to inherit. Most would have buckled beneath such pressure. You, my fellow princess, have not. You were born a princess. You were born to protect every person you rule and serve, and you will continue to do that even as the people you rule and serve grow, expand into previously unfathomed people.

"You are a princess, Azula. I know that you will do what is best for your people. Whether you do it as I did, through a sacrifice of life, or not, is irrelevant. You will do it. Because it is what you were born to do. Just as it is what I was born to do."

Azula glares at Yue, "I assumed that Spirits would be intelligent. You are a fool to trust me."

"I trust you, Azula. I have always trusted you."

Azula eyes her suspiciously, "Why? How could you possibly trust the princess of your nation's greatest enemy?"

Yue smiles, "Because I was born a princess too. I know that you know what you must do."

"It hasn't been done in millennia."

"I will help you, my friend, my sister's Warrior. The Children of La and Tui will help. I will ensure my father knows this."

Azula nods, "I know I am the Fire Nation's 'Warrior' but it was suggested that each nation had one. Who is the Warrior here?"

"You know who it is."

"She loathes me."

"Yes."

"That was entirely unhelpful."

"She will help, not for your sake, but for the peoples'."

"You better be right."

"I know my people as well as you know yours, Azula."

* * *

**Fire Nation Palace, Royal Caldera City, Fire Nation, Mah****ā****bh****ū****ta**

**Pyrphorosa 26, 104 ASC – 23:56 CPT**

The meetings had been occurring since Loki had transferred to Businiao City. Teleportation took a fair amount out of him, but Azula clearly didn't care. She wanted to confer with him, so she did.

"He is growing weaker," Loki explains when Azula questions as to the true status of her father. "The scepter is draining him, feeding off his energy, turning his eyes into the energy of the scepter itself – blue. I also believe that he has been in communication with The Other-" an individual who, according to Loki, was in league with Thanos, "and by extension Thanos himself. That communication would be extremely painful for a mortal unaccustomed to traveling through realms."

"He physically travels to meet with The Other?"

"Yes."

"Why has this disappearance not been noted before? You did not vanish for lengthy amounts of time."

"Time passes differently there. Hours there can be an instant here," he explains with forced restraint.

Loki is certain this was the best decision, to abandon the idea of using Ozai in favor of using Azula. Ozai only wants to burn things, he's so similar to Thor in that regard, but he also has experience on his side and the scepter which theoretically would make manipulating the man much more difficult. Azula does not have experience or the scepter and she prefers mind games to blatant destruction, which will be more amusing to use to manipulate. Using Azula will be more enjoyable, to put it bluntly.

Besides, Ozai wants to destroy Azula completely. He wants to tear her down, piece-by-piece, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and finally physically. Ozai wants to ensure that his daughter will never get the chance to rise up again and threaten his rule, and he believes that the only way to ensure that is to destroy her from the inside out. It may prove to be interesting to watch, and since Loki will know of Ozai's plots to destroy his daughter Loki can use them as well to his own advantage in manipulating the girl.

It'll be fun.

Azula furrows her brow and nods, "Very well. The scepter is powered by the Tesseract, correct?"

"Yes."

"So the Tesseract would drain energy as well."

"She also produces energy."

"She?"

"The Tesseract is very much alive."

"And more similar to a person than previously assumed then, if she takes energy, produces it, and uses it to create other things." Azula turns from Loki and stares up at the tapestry on the wall depicting a blue dragon and a red dragon, supposed to be the dragons of Agni and Svahango.

_She was grand and bright, robeless, pristine and precise in nothing but blue sparks, white light, and great, imposing diamonds formed from the coal she stole from the flaming body of her sometimes brother sometimes father sometimes lover sometimes son._

_He made a habit of stealing her fury and delight whenever she touched the earth. He claimed her arrival as his own doing as she claimed his coal-and-obsidian bones in retaliation._

_They were spirits of Lightning and Sun, determined to lead their chosen warriors – they called themselves Sun Warriors, and while Svahango would continue to respect her brother-father-son-lover's people she would never forgive them for that slight, that insult, that refusal to acknowledge her existence…_

_She wouldn't have dared to touch the land and let her footprints spawn red and yellow and orange flames, thereby giving them the tools necessary for heat, for survival._

_I soon found that there were more fires than just red, yellow, orange, blue, and white._

She is Fire. She is Lightning. Lightning is the purest form of energy. It takes energy from around itself and uses it to produce something immense. It spreads energy – heat and light, scarring heat and light – with its every breath. As does Fire, despite its impurities.

The strongest flames are those that appear as cold as ice. Blue and white and surging as the tundra of the Northern Water Tribe. As the energy of La and Yue.

"She is not like your fire," Loki comments, watching as Azula stares at the blue and white flames in her palm.

"You do not know my fire," Azula retorts, turning back around to face him.

"I am a God of Fire. I know every flame."

"You are no God here. Here, there are only Spirits. And you only know what I want you to."

Loki arches an eyebrow and smirks, "You truly believe that. Amusing."

"There are plenty of things that are amusing, Loki. Most of them hide greater truths. What are the Midgardians doing with the Tesseract currently?"

"I have not-"

"I know you've been to Midgard, Loki. Let's skip the ploys and pries and out-witting and just get to the point."

Loki rolls his eyes, "Mortals are always so impatient."

"Less time to accomplish anything. Get used to it."

"The Tesseract is currently being studied by a man named Dr. Erik Selvig, a man of Midgardian science. It is being held by a group of mortals under the designation of SHIELD – the Strategic Hazardous Investigation and Logistics Division. SHIELD Agents were who gathered to deal with Thor when he landed upon Midgard, and his hammer, Mjolnir-"

"Mjolnir?"

"It is a weapon Odin gave to Thor, meant to only go to the most worthy. It is the most impressive weapon in all the nine realms."

"I assume you are unable to pick it up."

"You would be unable to."

"Well, no, if the requirements for being 'worthy' are determined by Odin, who seems to value those with Thor's characteristics more than ours, of course we wouldn't. The selection process is biased towards people like our brothers." Azula perches atop her desk and questions, "What does SHEILD do, exactly?"

"They are an espionage organization who deal mostly in threats both internal and external to Midgard as a whole."

"Who is in charge?"

"Nicholas Fury is Director."

"I will be needing more information than a name."

"I could get it, but-"

"Later. What does Thanos want with the Tesseract? What does he want to use her for?"

"Transportation. One could open a portal from one side of the universe, or from another entirely, and land atop Midgard, or here, or even Asgard."

"Where does he want to be transported?"

"Here, if your people continue to irritate him. He will send his army-"

"How large?"

"As large as this world."

"How did he get an army as large as an entire world?"

"He conquers worlds, vying for the affections of Death."

"Svahango?"

"She is called the Bringer of Death, she is not Death herself."

"Does Death merely exist across…realms then? As some spirit that encompasses all realms and is only seen differently by the people who see her?"

"Perhaps."

"You have no idea."

"…"

"Wonderful." Azula leans forward, frowning, "Okay, so he conquers worlds because he's vying for the attention of Death – which is the most immature reason for conquering worlds I can possibly think of, if she isn't interested just _back off_. If my father irritates him enough, my world will be next on the list for being conquered, therefore I need to turn his attention elsewhere."

"Removing Ozai would be simpler."

"You want me to kill my father?"

"It would make more sense."

Azula shakes her head, "Doing such a thing would make people only see me as the killer of my father, it would simply be one family member forcibly taking the throne from another, and the people here are tired of that. The backlash from such an action would be immense."

"You simply cannot bring yourself to kill your father."

"You couldn't kill yours."

"That was never my intent. Besides, he was never my father."

Azula rolls her eyes, "Regardless, I require him where he is."

"No, you do not."

"Yes, I do."

"I know your plots, Azula," Loki says. "Your plots all revolve around returning this realm to its former glory, to avoiding war because you are tired of war despite your love of conquering. You cannot accomplish those plots with Ozai still standing as the Supreme Ruler of this World. You could have accomplished all that you have been working towards years ago, simply by killing Ozai."

She snaps, "You know nothing."

"I know how to protect a realm. In this case, it requires the death of your father."

"Before Thanos can even think of bringing his army here he must go to Midgard and retrieve the Tesseract for transport," Azula says, changing the topic forcibly. "He could do that easily enough, could he not, with merely the scepter?"

"Yes."

"Then why does he need you?"

Loki's eyes narrow.

"He gave the scepter to you when you fell into his lap after the Bifrost was destroyed," Azula says. "Why did he give the scepter to you? He obviously knew – either from you or from some other source – that the Tesseract – his transportation – was on Midgard. He had the scepter. He could have gone and gotten it if he wanted to use it to travel to and conquer other worlds. So why did he give it to you? What possible purpose could he have for giving you the scepter, and with the clear job of getting the Tesseract from Midgard? He could have done it himself, but he gave it to you. I want to know why."

"There are greater weapons than the Tesseract out there."

"Which Thanos knows about, and you know about." In an instant, Azula's mind connects the dots, "You have access to those weapons. Thanos doesn't. Thanos hasn't conquered Asgard yet, he gave the scepter to you, so you must have access to the weapons therefore the weapons must be on Asgard." Her gaze hardens, "What is in Asgard that Thanos so desperately wants?"

"It could be a variety of things. All heavily-guarded."

Azula leans back unsatisfied with Loki's non-answer, "Asgard isn't about to let you back in anytime soon, except, likely, to go to prison. If Thanos knows that about you then he would know that the only way to get you back into Asgard would be to get you to Midgard, take the Tesseract, attack Midgard, get beaten by Midgard, and wind up transported back to Asgard via your brother – the so-called protector of Midgard who would travel there via one of those backdoors you're so fond of – to serve Asgardian justice. You would stage a jailbreak of some sort, grab whatever weapon Thanos wants, then go back to Thanos and hand the thing over. Or, Thanos would somehow manage to transport himself to Asgard while you're being dealt with and distracting Asgard, and Thanos himself would take the weapon. In the end either way, the Great Element is just an unintended side-trip and we're only on Thanos' radar because of our benders and, likely, the fact that we've kept you occupied for this long."

Loki doesn't confirm nor deny her conclusions.

"My question is," Azula looks up at Loki, "do you want Thanos to have any weapons from Asgard? Do you want him to destroy everyone to gain the affections of Death and make himself feel big and powerful?"

"Hel would not mind an insurgence of dead."

"I imagine though that the Spirit World, or the Land of the Dead, whatever you call it, would wind up overfilled. The paperwork would be terrible. Whatever spirit or…God…Goddess…whatever you wish to call them, was in charge of the dead, the spirits, the afterlife, would wind up quite overworked, quite stressed. Besides," she hops off the desk, "if the weapons you speak of on Asgard are so dangerous that Asgardians, so-called Gods, Immortals, must guard them to the highest degree, then those weapons are clearly extremely dangerous to the Asgardians – Gods – themselves. I'm betting those weapons could overcome the speed-bump of immortality quite easilty. Thanos could slaughter every immortal. Surely, killing an immortal, or slaughtering all of them, would gain the affections of Death." Azula smirks, "We can easily thwart his plot. One small change needs to be made to it."

"And what change would that be?"

"I demand justice for the slaughter of my family and the decimation of my people at the hands and cunning of Loki Laufeyson-"

"Odinson."

Azula raises an eyebrow then shrugs and starts again, making her voice slightly higher-pitched and her tone more similar to Ty Lee's, "I, Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, demand justice for the slaughter of my f-family and the decimation of my people at the _hands_ and the _cunning_ of Loki Odinson. Oh, _please,_ Midgardians, won't you help me defeat him and avenge my people? Oh, _please,_ Thor, won't you permit me to witness the punishment of the one who took everything from me?"

"That will give you access to Asgard, get you closer to the weapons."

She straightens up and returns to her normal tone of voice, "And a face-to-face with Thanos, the pathetic man who must slaughter planets to feel good about himself and have a chance at wooing a person with no interest in him. The pathetic man who has dared to threaten my world."

"You have never fathomed power like that which the weapons can give you. You will be unable to control them."

"Why could I not control your weapons?"

"You are not Asgardian."

"Neither are you."

Loki's eyes narrow sharply, "I am a_ God_ while _you_ are little more than a mortal teenage girl who fancies herself a conqueror."

Azula just smirks.

People always forgot that she conquered the unconquerable with a team of teenage girls.

* * *

**A/N: **Note to self, do not start two massive fics at the same time. One will wind up being neglected. I am a terrible updater.

I really want a quote that has "she" as the primary character at work instead of "he" it'd be so much more appropriate.

N-WET – Western Earth Time, except in the Northern Water Tribe because the Northern Water Tribe is not fond of the term "Western Earth Time" because they felt at the time of the timezones being established that it encourages the Earth Kingdom's already prominent power (of the time); technically they're in the same time zone


End file.
